|
5297 Advanced Bankruptcy - BOHM (offered in Spring 2008)
Advanced Bankruptcy--The focus will be entirely on Chapter 11 cases. The course will cover several topics, including the following: (1) What issues need to be considered prior to filing a Chapter 11 petition? : (2) What issues need to be addressed immediately after the filing of the petition?; (3) How to obtain post-petition financing?; (4) What issues need to be considered in determining whether to assume or reject unexpired leases and executory contracts?; (5) What duties does a debtor's counsel have to the Chapter 11 estate?; (6) What duties do the board of directors and officers have to the Chapter 11 estate? ; (7) What functions does a creditors' committee serve and what duties does the attorney for this committee have?; (8) What duties do the creditors sitting on the creditors' committee have to those creditors whose interests this committee protects?; ( 9) What discovery tools exist for both the debtor and the creditors to obtain information about issues that are important to the case in general and the proposed plan of reorganization in particular?; (10) How can claims be estimated for purposes of obtaining confirmation of the proposed plan of reorganization?; (11) How should a disclosure statement be drafted and what information should it contain?; (12) How should a plan of reorganization be drafted and what provisions should it contain?; (13) How are claims paid once a plan of reorganization is confirmed?; (14) What post-confirmation disputes frequently arise and how can a bankruptcy court adjudicate them?; (14) How are attorneys' fees paid in a Chapter 11 case?; (15) When is a case closed and under what circumstances can it be reopened?; and (16) How a Chapter 11 case can have an effect on other areas of the law, including the effect on pending lawsuits and pending real estate transactions. THERE WILL BE ONE EXAM AND A PAPER IS OPTIONAL (50% of the grade).
5297 Advanced Legal Research & Writing (formerly LARC I - MASELLI (offered in Fall 2007)
LARC III is an upper level class intended to help students become more proficient, efficient, and effective at researching, analyzing legal issues, and composing and organizing written documents. It will build on concepts learned in both LARC I and LARC II and will help students to refine and further develop problem solving, factual investigation and drafting skills. Assignments will include (1) writing an advanced law office memo resolving a complex legal issue; (2) drafting opinion and demand letters, attorney-client agreements and other reflective documents, and court documents, such as pleadings and motions; (3) communicating orally in motion hearings and client meetings. The course will also focus on preparing students to successfully complete any of the numerous lawyering tasks they may encounter on the Multistate Performance Test.
5297 Advanced Legal Research & Writing (LARC III.) - MASELLI (offered in Spring 2008)
LARC III is an upper level class intended to help students become more proficient, efficient, and effective at researching, analyzing legal issues, and composing and organizing written documents. It will build on concepts learned in both LARC I and LARC II and will help students to refine and further develop problem solving, factual investigation and drafting skills. Assignments will include (1) writing an advanced law office memo resolving a complex legal issue; (2) drafting opinion and demand letters, attorney-client agreements and other reflective documents, and court documents, such as pleadings and motions; (3) communicating orally in motion hearings and client meetings. The course will also focus on preparing students to successfully complete any of the numerous lawyering tasks they may encounter on the Multistate Performance Test.
5297 Advanced Torts - SANDERS (offered in Spring 2006)
Advanced Torts
The course covers a number of topics that are either not covered in first year torts or are touched upon only lightly. They include, products liability, torts for economic injury, insurance, defamation, privacy, and nuisance.
5397 American Indian Law - CLARKSON (offered in Fall 2008)
This 3-credit course explores the principles, doctrines, and texts governing the legal relations between the United States and Indian tribes, the history of federal Indian law and policy, tribal property, treaty rights and sovereignty, congressional plenary power, the trust doctrine, jurisdiction in Indian country, and tribal government. Topics specifically examined in the course include tribal lawmaking powers, gaming and economic development in Indian country, protection of Indian religious rights and cultural property, water rights, fishing, hunting and other treaty-based rights.
5397 Animal Law - BURES DANNA (offered in Spring 2008)
Animal law is the study of statutory and decisional law in which the nature-legal, social, or biological-of non-human animals is an important factor. A wide variety of issues are examined, including those that fall into the general categories of Torts, Property Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Contracts, Wills/Trusts, and some selected Federal legislation. Animal law as presented in this course is not synonymous with "animal rights" or with any particular political, moral, or ethical agenda. Rather, it is an objective and logical specialization of the law¿one with a growing number of cases and statutes, increasing public and practical interest, and significantly different historical, legal, and philosophical foundations than most other areas of law.
5297 Animal Law - BURES DANNA (offered in Spring 2006)
Click here for proposed course outline. (pdf)
This course presents a survey of the historical and current status of this rapidly developing specialty. In brief, animal law encompasses all areas of the law in which the nature -- legal, social or biological -- of nonhuman animals is an important factor. This is not an animal rights course, although certainly the question of what rights animals should or do have will be raised as a natural consequence of reading the casebook. Rather, it is an objective and logical specialization of a challenging area -- one with a growing number of cases and laws, increasing public and practical interest, and significantly different historical, legal and philosophical foundations than most other courses.
5297 Animal Law - BURES DANNA (offered in Spring 2007)
Animal Law is, in its simplest and broadest sense, a combination of statutory and decisional law in which the nature - legal, social, or biological - of non-human animals is an important factor. Animal Law is not the same as animal rights, or animal welfare, although there is obviously overlap in those areas. The class is not a "rights" class, it is a law class.
In addition to discussion about a weekly "current event" from the local or state media or legislature (in session Spring 2007), topics that are covered within the parameters set forth above - torts, constitutional law, contracts, family law, criminal law, wills/trusts, social issues, etc. Additionally, volunteers from the 2007 spring class will have an opportunity to become involved in a Joint City/County Task Force.
5297 Anti-Corruption Law & Development - STRAWN (offered in Spring 2008)
It has been said that if you want to find oil, go to the bottom of Transparency International¿s corruption index. Although the speaker may have inverted the relationship, the perverse relationship between resource-rich countries and poverty and corruption has been recognized as the ¿resource curse¿ that few have escaped. In the last decade, corruption has been increasingly (though not uniformly) recognized as one of the most critical problems in development. Corruption, however, has also been recognized as a threat to developed countries, affecting issues including energy security (as more oil comes from the developing world, including West and Central Africa), counterterrorism (as corruption breeds failed states, which in turn breed terrorists), and our more humanistic goals of reducing poverty and resource-fueled conflicts. Recognition of the links between Northern security and Southern development has energized efforts to promote stable governments through international anti-corruption measures and development of rule of law, and through the more robust enforcement of domestic laws.
This course will look at these anti-corruption efforts, with a focus on the energy industry and developing states afflicted with the ¿resource curse.¿ We will begin by addressing the fundamentals: What is corruption? Is there a globally-acceptable definition? What are the effects of corruption on poverty and development? We will then examine the tools available to fight corruption, including preventative measures, criminal law and related enforcement tools, and asset recovery. In each area, we will look at the role of domestic legislation and enforcement, international instruments and organizations, and practices of private industry. The course will examine the major instruments in anti-corruption, including international conventions and standards, and US and foreign criminal and civil legislation. We will look at novel prevention efforts such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, ¿oil laws,¿ and World Bank initiatives such as the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project, as well as case studies of enforcement and asset recovery under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering and other laws.
Susan Strawn was the U.S. Department of Treasury Resident Advisor for Financial Crimes for West Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal from 2004-06. From 2002-04, she was the Resident Legal Advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice in Pristina, Kosovo, and from 1990-2004 was a Trial Attorney at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
5297 Anti-Corruption Law & Development - STRAWN (offered in Fall 2008)
It has been said that if you want to find a country with oil resources, start at the bottom of Transparency International’s corruption index. Economists have labeled this paradox -- countries that are resource-rich, and yet among the word’s poorest and most corrupt -- the “resource curse.” Largely due to work by economists, corruption has been increasingly (though not uniformly) recognized as one of the most critical problems in development. Corruption, however, has also been recognized as a threat to developed countries, affecting issues including energy security (as more oil comes from the developing world, including West and Central Africa), counterterrorism (as corruption breeds failed states, which in turn breed terrorists), and our more humanistic goals of reducing poverty and resource-fueled conflicts. Recognition of the links between corruption and poverty, and between Northern security and Southern development, has energized legal efforts to promote stable governments through international anti-corruption measures and development of rule of law, and through the more robust enforcement of domestic laws.
This course will look at anti-corruption efforts in law and law enforcement, with a focus on the energy industry and developing states afflicted with the “resource curse.” We will begin by addressing the fundamentals: What is corruption? Is there a globally-acceptable definition? What are the effects of corruption on poverty and development? We will then examine the tools available to fight corruption, including preventative measures, criminal law and related enforcement tools, and asset recovery. In each area, we will look at the role of domestic legislation and enforcement, international instruments and organizations, and practices of private industry. The course will examine the major instruments in anti-corruption, including international conventions and standards, and US and foreign criminal and civil legislation. We will look at novel prevention efforts such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, “oil laws,” and World Bank initiatives such as the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project, as well as case studies of enforcement and asset recovery under the federal bribery statutes, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering and other laws.
We will have at least two, and possibly three, guest speakers, including the Honorable Petter Nore, Director of Norway’s Oil for Development Program, and Sue Ringler, former counsel to the United Nations Oil-for-Food Commission and currently counsel for compliance at the ITT Corporation.
Requirements: Class presentation of case study; paper.
Susan Strawn was the U.S. Department of Treasury Resident Advisor for Financial Crimes for West Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal from 2004-06. From 2002-04, she was the Resident Legal Advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice in Pristina, Kosovo, and from 1990-2004 was a Trial Attorney at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
5297 Bankruptcy - BOHM (offered in Fall 2006)
Prerequisite: Secured transactions required or a concurrent course.
5297 Baseball and the Law - THORNTON (offered in Spring 2008)
This course will examine the historical relationship between baseball and the law. Materials and discussion will focus primarily on the interrelationship between law and professional baseball with some references to amateur baseball as well. The course will explore baseball historic antitrust exemption, player contracts, intellectual property and licensing rights for both owners and players, gender equity issues, labor law and collective bargaining with a detailed examination of the CBA for MLB, baseball¿s salary arbitration system, tort liability dealing with owners, players and fans, violence in baseball, player agents, drug testing and the powers of the commissioner. Course materials will be drawn from cases and arbitration decisions as well as a text.
5297 Baseball and the Law - THORNTON (offered in Fall 2008)
5297 Business Immigration Basics - EZER (offered in Fall 2006)
Business Immigration Basics - Foreign National Employees
An overview of immigrant and non-immigrant visa categories for foreign national employees. Topics include options for foreign students, current and new hires, degreed and non-degreed workers, and review of the hiring and firing of foreign nationals, as well as the consequences of status violations for employee and employer. Exam given.
5397 Business Torts - MOLL (offered in Fall 2007)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In most first-year courses on torts, the class focuses upon torts that primarily cause personal injury and/or property damage. Tort law, however, extends well beyond these contexts. Indeed, this course will cover torts that typically cause pure economic harm -- i.e., harms to the pocketbook, rather than harms to the person or property. The course will emphasize the operation of various business torts and will examine the torts' applicability to particular business or economic settings.
5497 Civil Practice Clinic I. - LUTZ/HEPPARD (offered in Fall 2007)
Students will represent clients in the following civil practice areas: family (including domestic violence, divorce and custody), juvenile dependency and delinquency, probate, guardianships, bankruptcy and landlord/tenant. Representation will include court/trial appearances, mediation, negotiation, document drafting and case investigation.
5397 Civil Rights Litigation - BUCKLES, E. (offered in Fall 2008)
This is a survey course on Civil Rights litigation. The course will include discussion on the history of the Civil Rights movement, but will primarily focus on the current day challenges in bringing forth a successful Civil Rights claim. The course examines the constitutional and statutory provisions from which the rights spring, including but not limited to the Bill of Rights, the Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts, and more modern civil rights statutes, such as Title VII. Grades will be determined based upon a final exam and class participation.
5397 Clean Air Act - HEALY (offered in Spring 2006)
The Houston environment reflects some of the most unique and complex air quality issues in the country. As such this region provides an excellent laboratory for studying implementation of the Clean Air Act. In this course, you will explore how the Clean Air Act works, doesn¿t work, and could work better through several short research projects on currently pending issues involving regulation of Houston¿s air quality, including the State Implementation Plan for attainment of the national ambient air quality standard for ozone.
5297 Clean Water Act - BENTHUL (offered in Fall 2006)
1. Background of the Clean Water Act as initially enacted in 1972-wide variability in state regulation and significant water qualirty problems.
2. What is regulated by the Clean Water Act-jurisdictional components.
3. Regulatory mechanisms-wastewater discharge permits (Section 402) , permits for discharge of fill material (Section 404), State Certification of discharges, enforcement.
4. Basis of Permits-technology (effluent guidelines), water quality, 404(b) guidelines.
5. Authorization of State permit programs.
6. Enforcement of Clean Water Act-civil (administrative, judicial), criminal, citizen suits.
7. The EPA-authorizedTexas waste water discharge permit program and its enforcement will be addressed at various points during the course as will the statutory amendments of the Clean Water Act.
The survey environmental course is not a prerequisite but will be helpful for those who have taken it.
5297 Clean Water Act - BENTHUL (offered in Fall 2007)
RECOMMENDED Prerequisite: Survey environmental law course is recommended but NOT required.
5297 Climate Change Litigation - HESTER/SUSMAN (offered in Spring 2007)
Given the enormous challenge posed by global climate change, the courts will inevitably play a central role in disputes over the right course of action and in efforts to help injured parties adapt to a rapidly changing world. As the courts enter this new arena of action, however, they will have to proceed with little precedent or clear guidance on how past legal theories will support these new causes of action.
This course will focus on the foundations, options and challenges to the use of litigation to force action to address climate change and to impose liability on parties allegedly responsible for it. We will review the current state of knowledge about the science underlying climate change findings and predictions, examine how environmental and tort laws have adapted to address earlier novel environmental threats and risks, assess how courts have responded to lawsuits to address disputes rooted in large-scale policy problems, and scrutinize the specific legal challenges and evidentiary issues that will face climate change litigation. Our examination will center on a practical exa¬mi¬nation on whether, and how, this novel type of lawsuit will work.
We will use a combination of lectures, class discussions, in-class exercises and sample problems, and case studies. Of course, we expect all students to come to class prepared and to participate in class discussions.
5397 Colloquium - HOFFMANL (offered in Spring 2007)
This is the fourth year that the Colloquium is being offered at the University of Houston.
The idea for the Colloquium is inspired by the New York University model, although there are differences between this course offering and those at NYU. The basic premise of this Colloquium is student-centered. It reflects an attempt to create, to use NYU's description of its comparable course-offerings, a Acooperative enterprise@ regarding scholarship between students and faculty. In the colloquium context, one of the principal objectives is for students and teachers to work cooperatively in a rigorous intellectual environment. Students benefit from being exposed to scholarly analytic treatment and discussion of a subject in ways that few other, if any, law school classes can provide. The Colloquium also affords students an opportunity to study the law of many different fields and to be at the cutting edge of its evolution. For the faculty participants, the opportunity to present and defend their work before a core group of talented students who have read carefully and thoughtfully in advance offers an occasion for a thorough examination of their presented work.
Class Size, Student Requirements and Grading -
The three credit hour course is limited to twenty students. It meets once a week on Fridays, from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. in the Heritage Room. To satisfy the course requirements, in addition to reading the papers and coming to class prepared to discuss them, students are required to write commentaries of 4-5 pages in length addressing each presented paper. Student papers are due prior to the presentation by the guest faculty speakers. Papers must discuss the thesis of the presented scholarship, critically analyze whether its author succeeds in his/her objectives and raise any questions that the student thinks are relevant. Class participation counts for one third of the total grade; the written memoranda are worth the other two thirds. The class does not satisfy the UHLC's seminar writing requirement.
5397 Communication Law - CHASE (offered in Fall 2008)
This course examines regulation and policy concerned with various forms of mass media in the US including radio and television as well as telecommunications regulation, law and policy.
5397 Communication Law - CHASE (offered in Spring 2008)
This course examines regulation and policy concerned with various forms of mass media in the US including radio and television as well as telecommunications regulation, law and policy.
Paper course, no exam.
5297 Consumer Dispute Resolution - ALDERMAN/VENTURA (offered in Fall 2007)
Students in this course will work with the Texas Consumer Complaint Center to help consumers resolve their complaints. Students will be expected to work 60 hours for each academic credit. Students will assist consumers who have contacted the Center in a variety of ways ranging from simply giving information to helping the consumer prepare for small claims court. Prior permission from Dean Alderman is required to register. Please contact him to arrange an appointment to discuss the course.
5197 Consumer Dispute Resolution - ALDERMAN/VENTURA (offered in Spring 2007)
Instructor Approval Necessary to Register.
5397 Consumer Dispute Resolution - ALDERMAN/VENTURA (offered in Spring 2007)
Instructor Approval Necessary to Register.
5297 Consumer Dispute Resolution - ALDERMAN/VENTURA (offered in Fall 2006)
This course is for the students that assist Professor Alderman and John Ventura with the Texas Consumer Complaint Center. This course will involve at least 120 hours of work helping consumers. Registration is limted to five students. Pass/Fail. Instructor approval needed.
5397 Consumer Dispute Resolution - ALDERMAN (offered in Spring 2006)
Instructors approval necessary to register.
5497 Criminal Practice Clinic - HILL (offered in Spring 2008)
Students in the Criminal Practice Clinic work at the Harris County District Attorney¿s Office and handle the prosecution of a variety of misdemeanor level criminal cases, with some opportunities for felony case work. Typical cases include possession of marijuana, intimidation by telephone, physical assault, indecent exposure, trespass, theft, receiving stolen property, misdemeanor theft, joyriding, disturbing the peace, and misdemeanor child abuse. An effort is made to provide students with a variety of practice experiences. The insight and experience is valuable to any individual interested in criminal law, whether on the prosecution or defense side. Students are supervised by Assistant District Attorneys in the District Attorney¿s Office.
The Criminal Clinic has a classroom component that meets for two hours a week for 14 weeks for a total of 28 hours over the course of the semester. The classroom component provides students with the necessary background to perform successfully in the Criminal Practice Clinic. Special attention is placed on the ethics, process, and logistics of charging, trying and defending criminal cases. The classroom component is taught by a local criminal court judge.
The Criminal Clinic is a 4 credit hour course.
5497 Criminal Practice Clinic - HILLB (offered in Fall 2008)
5397 Criminal Procedure: The Adjudication Process - NEWTON (offered in Fall 2007)
This course will cover the constitutional rules of criminal procedure applicable in all court proceedings in a criminal prosecution in state or federal court. Issues covered include the Sixth Amendment right to counsel (including ineffective assistance of counsel); preliminary hearings and bail; grand jury proceedings; prosecutorial and police misconduct; guilty pleas; the right to a jury trial; the prosecution's burden of proof; the "constitutional rules of evidence" (i.e., the Confrontation Clause and Compulsory Process Clause); double jeopardy; sentencing issues (capital and non-capital); and direct appeals and habeas corpus appeals.
NOTE: There are no prerequisites for this course. Criminal Procedure: The Adjudication Process is a separate course from Criminal Procedure: The Investigation Process. The two courses are not sequential in nature and neither course is a prerequisite for the other course. They may be taken separately or at the same time.
5397 Criminal Procedure: The Adjudication Process - NEWTON (offered in Summer IV 2008)
This course will cover the constitutional rules of criminal procedure applicable in all court proceedings in a criminal prosecution in state or federal court. Issues covered include the Sixth Amendment right to counsel (including ineffective assistance of counsel); preliminary hearings and bail; grand jury proceedings; prosecutorial and police misconduct; guilty pleas; the right to a jury trial; the prosecution's burden of proof; the "constitutional rules of evidence" (i.e., the Confrontation Clause and Compulsory Process Clause); double jeopardy; sentencing issues (capital and non-capital); and direct appeals and habeas corpus appeals. NOTE: There are no prerequisites for this course. Criminal Procedure: The Adjudication Process is a separate course from Criminal Procedure: The Investigation Process. The two courses are not sequential in nature and neither course is a prerequisite for the other course. They may be taken separately or at the same time.
5397 Criminal Procedure: The Investigation Process - ROSENBERG (offered in Fall 2007)
Please be advised that there will be makeup classes and no computers are permitted in the classroom. There are attendance and lateness rules.
Exam is closed book; computer or handwritten.
5297 Current Issues in Health Law (Intersession Course) - KOROBKIN (offered in Spring 2007)
This year, this intensive intersession course will focus on the range of legal and policy issues raised directly or indirectly by the excitement in the scientific community over stem cell research. Topics will include the following: federal funding of embryonic stem cell research; therapeutic (research) cloning and reproductive cloning; the creation of chimeras for research purposes; whether stem cells themselves should be patentable; intellectual property issues in publicly funded research; informed consent issues in medical research; tissue markets for biomedical research and for organ transplants; regulation of stem cell treatments through the regulatory and tort systems. Time permitting, the course will touch on a handful of other health policy issues of current public debate. The course will meet for 100 minutes twice a day from January 2-6 (including Saturday) and January 8-9. Active class participation is expected.
5397 Elder Law - CANCELOSI (offered in Spring 2006)
Explores financial and end-of-life planning for the elderly, including the use of trusts, wills, advance directives and powers of attorney; examines the role of the guardian and attorney ad litem; analyzes the role of Medicare and Medicaid; and considers the legal aspects of home health, assisted living and nursing home alternatives for senior citizen care.
5397 Elder Law - LOOTENS (offered in Fall 2008)
This course is an introduction to the myriad of legal issues that are often grouped under various titles such as Elder Law, Aging and the Law, or Elderly and the Law. The course will highlight the social and legal issues associated with an aging society, a critical understanding of the distinct legal problems of the elderly and a familiarity with governmental programs aimed at older people.
5297 Election Law - MARTINEZ (offered in Summer III 2007)
Click here for course outline.
5397 Election Law - DOUGLASS (offered in Fall 2007)
Election Law
Professor Douglass
M-W 10:30a - 12:00p
There is no text for the course.
There will be a syllabus and packets for each of the eight (8) areas to be covered in the course.
Available now at the Copy center are (1) Syllabus and
(2) Packets for the first five sections of the course
(a) Federal Role in Elections
(b) Suffrage
(c) Apportionment and Redistricting
(d) Election Procedures
(e) Political Parties
The packets for the remaining three sections will be available later in the semester but well before the class gets to those sections.
On the first week of class be prepared to cover and discuss the U.S. Constitutional requirements.
Later I shall distribute a number of publications provided by the Federal Election Committee for each student.
5397 Energy Law: Emerging Markets - SKELTON (offered in Fall 2008)
This course explores the legal and regulatory structures affecting foreign investors seeking to participate in the development of the so-called emerging markets, with particular emphasis on energy related transactions and the restructuring of formerly socialist economies. Topics to be covered include: forms of foreign investment and commercial transactions, local accreditation, taxation, the privatization process, intellectual property protection, import-export regulations, currency controls, project and conventional financing, banking, the development and regulation of capital markets, securities and commodities exchanges, financing, labor law, environmental protection, and antitrust issues.
5297 Energy Law: Natural Gas - WEAVER (offered in Fall 2006)
Final exam 60% of the grade.
Class project 40% of the grade. A written analysis of a key government document or other such report related to the class reading. Maximum 10 pages long. Depending on the number of students in the class, students may be given a choice of documents/reports/articles to read and analyze. If time permits (and again, depending on the size of the class), students may be asked to present short 10-minute summaries of their reports in class on the last day of class. The type of material that will be offered as projects includes: the Sandia report on the safety of LNG; the Clark report on safety of LNG for a particular site in Rhode Island; the plans and prospects for an Alaskan gas pipeline and its possible routes; the state of natural gas markets in the U.S. The assignment does not require extensive legal research; its purpose is to allow students to read an entire report/article and analyze and summarize it as if you were writing a memo to update your colleagues in the bar or at your law firm or government agency on a timely topic. The memo will include posing additional questions that remain unanswered by an inquiring mind.
Class participation can raise or lower the grade by half a point, i.e., from a B to a B plus or B minus.
This course focuses on the golden fuel, most favored environmentally for its clean-burning qualities. It addresses: the natural gas resource base; U.S. laws and lease contracts governing gas production and its externalities at the state level and on federal lands (the Outer Continental Shelf and coalbed methane in the Rockies); the lessons learned from past policies of price controls; FERC restructuring of the natural gas pipeline industry and its impacts on electricity restructuring; the legal and national security issues of developing natural gas overseas (particularly in the Amazon) and importing LNG into U.S. gas markets; and LNG siting in the United States.
7397 Enron, Ethics and Finance - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring 2008)
Permission is needed by Prof. Weaver or Prof. Bush and the Office of Student Services at the Law Center for any law student interested in taking this course for credit at Bauer Business School/UH.
5397 Entrepreneurship - CHASE (offered in Spring 2008)
This course examines entrepreneurship and specifically discusses the challenges and strategies one faces becoming a successful entrepreneur. Whether opening a law practice or starting a new business or commercializing a new technology we will examine and discuss issues such as raising capital, competitive strategies & responses, and related topics.
This will be a paper course - no exam.
5397 Entrepreneurship - CHASE (offered in Fall 2008)
This course examines entrepreneurship and specifically discusses the challenges and strategies one faces becoming a successful entrepreneur. Whether opening a law practice or starting a new business or commercializing a new technology we will examine and discuss issues such as raising capital, competitive strategies & responses, and related topics.
5397 Family Law Practice - WILHITE (offered in Spring 2006)
Prerequisite: Marital Property Rights. Procedure II is a co-requisite. Procedure II would need to be taken either previously or simultaneously.
This course must have a minimum enrollment of 10 students.
This is an Advanced family law skills and strategy course.
5397 Federal Courts - ESKRIDGE (offered in Spring 2006)
A study of selected problems in federal jurisdiction, including diversity of citizenship, existence of federal question, and issues of comity in federal/state relations. The statutory sources of federal court power, the separation of powers, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will also be considered.
5397 Federal Courts - BRUHL (offered in Spring 2007)
This course covers the jurisdiction of the federal courts and a number of other issues concerning the relationship of the federal and state courts. Specific topics to be covered include: congressional control over the jurisdiction of the federal courts; justiciability doctrines such as standing; enforcement of federal rights against state officials; federal question and diversity jurisdiction, including supplemental jurisdiction; federal common law; the 11th Amendment and sovereign immunity; federal removal jurisdiction; abstention doctrines; and federal appellate jurisdiction, including United States Supreme Court review of state court judgments.
5297 Federal Courts - ESKRIDGE (offered in Fall 2008)
5297 Federal Income Tax - Part II - SHEPARD (offered in Fall 2006)
This is the continuation of the Federal Income Tax I course which was offered as an elective to first-year students, and together with that course is the equivalent of the Federal Income Tax course. This course is needed by those students who took Federal Income Tax I if they desire to meet the prerequisite requirement for other tax courses. Introduction to federal income taxation. Identification and characterization of income subject to taxation and deductions therefrom.
Prerequisite = Federal Income Tax - Part I.
5297 Federal Income Tax - Part II - SHEPARD (offered in Summer I 2006)
This is the continuation of the Federal Income Tax I course which was offered as an elective to first-year students, and together with that course is the equivalent of the Federal Income Tax course. This course is needed by those students who took Federal Income Tax I if they desire to meet the prerequisite requirement for other tax courses. Introduction to federal income taxation. Identification and characterization of income subject to taxation and deductions therefrom.
Prerequisite=Federal Income Tax I.
5297 Federal Income Tax - Part II - AGNEW (offered in Fall 2006)
This course, Federal Income Tax-Part II is for the last seven weeks of the semester.
Federal Income Tax II is for those students that took the Federal Income Tax course as a 1L elective.
Prerequisite: Federal Income Tax - Part I.
7297 Foreign Scholars Seminar - HEARD (offered in Spring 2008)
This seminar will build upon the principles and techniques introduced in the Legal Analysis, Research, and Communication¿Foreign Section course offered during the fall semester. The class will meet weekly to discuss advanced legal research and writing skills, with an emphasis on scholarly writing. Each student will be required to write a seminar paper (40 typewritten pages, double-spaced, letter size), on a topic of the student's choice, that meets the Law Center¿s writing requirement for the Foreign Scholars Program. Deadlines will be set for the different stages of research: topic selection, bibliography, outline, first draft, presentation of your research to the class, and submission of a final paper.
This course is limited to foreign LLM students not admitted to a concentration, and who are in the foreign scholars program.
5397 Franchise & Distribution - DEVLIN (offered in Fall 2007)
This course surveys the history and development of franchising and the laws relating to franchise relationships, with particular attention to the franchise laws affecting the distribution of motor fuels. The course will cover a broad range of legal issues and topics involved in franchise and product distribution, including franchise regulation, disclosure, and registration, types of franchises, antitrust, unfair competition, trademarks, pricing, advertising, premises liability, and contract law. The statutes examined will include federal and state laws and regulations, including the federal Petroleum Marketing Practices Act and the FTC Franchise Disclosure Rule. In addition, foreign and international franchise will be discussed.
5397 Franchise and Distribution: Energy, Food and Other - DEVLIN (offered in Fall 2006)
The full course title is: "Franchise and Distribution: From Energy (Gasoline) to Food (McDonald's) and from Childcare to Senior Services (cradle to grave and getting there)"This course surveys the history and development of franchising and the laws relating to franchise relationships, with particular attention to the franchise laws affecting the distribution of motor fuels. The course will cover a broad range of legal issues and topics involved in franchise and product distribution, including franchise regulation, disclosure, and registration, types of franchises, antitrust, unfair competition, trademarks, pricing, advertising, premises liability, and contract law. The statutes examined will include federal and state laws and regulations, including the federal Petroleum Marketing Practices Act and the FTC Franchise Disclosure Rule. In addition, foreign and international franchise will be discussed.
5297 Fraud & Abuse - CLARK, DONNA (offered in Spring 2008)
Fraud and Abuse. This course examines the federal and state laws imposing criminal and civil penalties on health care providers for a variety of fraudulent activities. The course explores the implications of the federal and state Anti-Kickback Laws, the federal anti-referral (Stark) law, the federal civil monetary penalty and exclusion laws, the federal and state false claims laws, as well as traditional federal white collar criminal laws as applied to health care.
5197 Fundamental Processes of Academic Writing - HERMER (offered in Spring 2006)
In this class, we will take a legal academic paper from start to finish, either by substantially revising an old one for which you have already received a final grade or that you have started on your own (i.e., not for credit), or by creating a new "mini-thesis" of 10 - 15 pages on an issue of your choice. The topics covered will include the following: (1) how to choose and suitably narrow a thesis statement that will yield, if done well, a well-received thesis and/or a publishable paper; (2) how to identify and locate source material and evaluate its soundness; (3) how to craft the paper; and (4) how to choose journals to which to submit a finished product, and how best to position the paper for consideration. The course will meet once weekly, and will require work each week outside of class on your paper, in addition to completion of the weekly reading assignments. Your paper will constitute the final work product on which you will be graded. I reserve the right to adjust your grade by one-half increment, either up or down, based on class participation.
5297 Gaming and the Law - BOLIN (offered in Fall 2008)
5397 Gasoline: A Legal History - DEVLIN (offered in Spring 2008)
Gasoline: A Legal History
First used in English around 1865 and defined in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Tenth Ed. 1993) as -a volatile flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture used as a fuel esp. for internal combustion engines.
The course will examine the ubiquitous role that gasoline and companies that produce it have played in the development of law, judicial, legislative, and administrative in the United States over almost a century and a half. It will follow a multi-disciplinary approach, examining environmental, antitrust, franchise,
Trademark, advertising, government controls, and other production, distribution, and marketing legal issues surrounding this ineluctable liquid. We will delve into issues such as oil company divestitures and mergers and their effects on gasoline distribution and prices, lead additization, price and supply allocation, underground storage tanks, price gouging and below cost selling, and the use of discount for cash and trading stamps. The course will conclude with consideration of what the American legal system is doing to address the ultimate questions "What comes after gasoline?"
(There will be no text or casebook. There will be assigned readings of cases, legislation, government reports, industry analyses, articles, and the like. One book that is suggested general background reading is Daniel Yergin, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power (Simon & Schuster 1991) (available I believe in paperback reprint.)
5397 Gasoline: A Legal History - DEVLIN (offered in Spring 2007)
Gasoline: A Legal History
First used in English around 1865 and defined in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Tenth Ed. 1993) as -a volatile flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture used as a fuel esp. for internal combustion engines.¿
The course will examine the ubiquitous role that gasoline and companies that produce it have played in the development of law, judicial, legislative, and administrative in the United States over almost a century and a half. It will follow a multi-disciplinary approach, examining environmental, antitrust, franchise,
Trademark, advertising, government controls, and other production, distribution, and marketing legal issues surrounding this ineluctable liquid. We will delve into issues such as oil company divestitures and mergers and their effects on gasoline distribution and prices, lead additization, price and supply allocation, underground storage tanks, price gouging and below cost selling, and the use of discount for cash and trading stamps. The course will conclude with consideration of what the American legal system is doing to address the ultimate questions ¿ ¿What comes after gasoline?¿
(There will be no text or casebook. There will be assigned readings of cases, legislation, government reports, industry analyses, articles, and the like. One book that is suggested general background reading is Daniel Yergin, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power (Simon & Schuster 1991) (available I believe in paperback reprint.)
5397 Genetics & the Law - EVANS (offered in Spring 2008)
GENETICS AND THE LAW examines ethical, legal, and policy issues surrounding new genetic technologies that have flowed from the Human Genome Project, including informed consent to genetic testing; ethical issues in genetic research, including issues with tissue banking, genetic databases, and genome-wide association studies; genetic privacy and concerns about genetic discrimination; cloning, stem-cell research, and reproductive uses of genetic information; forensic use of genetic information; behavioral genetics; medical applications such as gene therapy and genetically targeted drug therapies; problems with commercialization and regulation of genetic products and services; issues in genomic medicine, including disparities in health-care access and concerns about predictive and prognostic errors; and gene patenting. The course includes some scientific content to enhance understanding of the legal and ethical issues; however, no previous scientific background is required.
5397 Health Legislation - GRAY (offered in Fall 2007)
This course focuses on state legislation, but also addresses issues relating to federal legislation, city codes, and regulations. The course includes coverage of legislative and regulatory drafting, as well as the procedural and political process of getting legislation passed and regulations implemented.
5297 Health Legislation - GRAY (offered in Summer IV 2006)
HEALTH LEGISLATION focuses on state legislation, but also addresses issues relating to federal legislation, city codes, and regulations. The course includes coverage of legislative and regulatory drafting, as well as the procedural and political process of getting legislation passed and regulations implemented. 2 Credits.
5297 Higher Education Law - OLIVAS (offered in Fall 2008)
This course will cover legal and governance issues that affect higher education institutions: legal governance, academic freedom, faculty, students, and equity topics. The class will include law students and graduate students from other UH colleges. Each student will prepare and submit a seminar paper on an approved college law topic of your choice, which, with class participation, will result in the course grade.
5297 Homeland Security ( - ROBERTS (offered in Fall 2008)
Please see attached course syllabus.
5297 Immigration Appellate Clinic - PERKINSON (offered in Spring 2007)
Students will learn principles of federal courts, administrative law, immigration law, appellate advocacy, client interaction, professional responsibility, and procedural rules for all the typical forums that hear immigration related appeals both through an academic component and by prosecuting live cases at the Board of Immigration Appeals, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and other administrative and judicial tribunals. Student attorneys will be supervised by a licensed attorney in representing their clients.
Instructor Approval Required to Enroll.
5397 Immigration Appellate Clinic - PERKINSON (offered in Spring 2007)
Students will learn principles of federal courts, administrative law, immigration law, appellate advocacy, client interaction, professional responsibility, and procedural rules for all the typical forums that hear immigration related appeals both through an academic component and by prosecuting live cases at the Board of Immigration Appeals, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and other administrative and judicial tribunals. Student attorneys will be supervised by a licensed attorney in representing their clients.
Instructor Approval is Required to Enroll.
5497 Immigration Appellate Clinic - PERKINSON (offered in Spring 2007)
Students will learn principles of federal courts, administrative law, immigration law, appellate advocacy, client interaction, professional responsibility, and procedural rules for all the typical forums that hear immigration related appeals both through an academic component and by prosecuting live cases at the Board of Immigration Appeals, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and other administrative and judicial tribunals. Student attorneys will be supervised by a licensed attorney in representing their clients.
Instructor Approval Required to Enroll.
5497 Innocence Investigations - DOW/JEU (offered in Summer III 2008)
Cr. 2-4. This course explores the substantive law, investigative techniques, and post-conviction appellate remedies applicable in capital (death penalty) and non-capital cases. Lectures will cover topics such as: Texas criminal statutes, state/federal habeas law, clemency proceedings, investigative techniques, and capital trial strategy. In addition to attending lectures, students work on actual cases. For non-capital cases, students investigate inmates’ claims of actual innocence and assist attorneys in providing post-conviction legal assistance once those claims are verified. For capital cases, students investigate claims related to the guilt-innocence and punishment phases of capital murder trials and assist attorneys in investigating and researching legal claims.
5297 Int'l Enforcement of Intellectual Property - COLMENTER (offered in Spring 2006)
Course Outline: This course examines, analyzes and studies the remarkable debate regarding how to enforce trademarks, patents and copyrights beyond national boundaries. Special emphasis in the course will be placed on the differences and similarities between the diverse national intellectual property enforcement systems. Lecture topics will include the analysis of international standards for intellectual property enforcement and its implementation, application and practices in national jurisdictions. Also, topics such as international intellectual property litigation and international arbitration for trademarks, copyrights and patents will be covered.
Grading and Evaluation: The course grade will be based 100% on an open material final exam. Class participation is not a part of the course grade. However, the professor reserves the right to adjust a student¿s grade lower by one level for inadequate class participation. Inadequate participation could include: insufficient preparation for class as shown through in-class questioning; exceeding the threshold for absences; and insufficient participation in any practical exercises that the professor assigns. In reference to practical exercises, they are contemplated to be minor projects that might require some out-of-class preparation in order to participate in role playing during class, present to fellow students, debate/discuss topics, and items of similar effect. There will be no more than two practical exercises during the course.
Prerequisite: In order to take the course the student must fulfill the following prerequisites: (i) International Intellectual Property or (ii) Intellectual Property Survey and background in International Law, with the instructor¿s permission, which will in part inquire into the nature of the applicant¿s background in International Law.
5397 Intellectual Property of Art/Cultural Regulations - LORENZO (offered in Spring 2007)
This course will be conducted using the text below with additional reading assignments provided to attending students each week. The goal of this course is to examine in depth the relevant case law and legal proceedings to date involving national and international disputes over the title and possession of numerous works of art and cultural heritage.
5397 Interagency Environmental Cooperation - FLATT (offered in Fall 2006)
"Interagency Environmental Cooperation is a course in which students will hear from various local, state, and federal environmental agency personnel about real issues in coordinating environmental requirements between agencies. The students will then select one or more of these problems to create solutions, which could be new rules, proposed legislation, etc . . .This is a capstone course, utilizing knowledge from environmental law and administrative law, and the students will have to be very self-motivated and willing to be problem solvers - as they would be in the real environmental world. Students should have either taken or be taking environmental law OR administrative law, but other students will be considered and need the permission of the Instructor. This year may have a focus on agency response to the environmental problems associated with Hurricane Katrina clean-up, and we may be jointly working with students via teleconferencing at Tulane and Loyola New Orleans."
5297 International Commercial Arbitration - SHEPPARD (offered in Spring 2007)
Click here for course information
5297 International Commercial Arbitration - SHEPPARD (offered in Spring 2008)
Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest. For international commercial transactions, international arbitration is the worst form of dispute resolution, except for all the rest. Supported by an international treaty signed by more than 130 nations, international arbitration has become the prevailing method of resolving international commercial disputes. And international transactions have become increasingly common in the global economy¿the daily volume of international trade today across national borders exceeds the total volume of international trade through the end of the nineteenth century!
This is a comprehensive course covering all stages of the international arbitral process, from the drafting of the arbitration clause to the enforcement of the arbitral award. It should be of value both to students who plan to develop a transactional practice as well as those planning to become trial lawyers.
This will be a highly interactive course. In addition to relevant written material, the course will also feature videotaped scenes from mock arbitrations that the Institute for Transnational Arbitration generated at its Annual Arbitration Workshops. Consisting of mock scenarios, and performed by some of the world's leading international arbitrators and counsel, the videotapes vividly demonstrate the major phases of an international arbitration. Students will be assigned roles as counsel and as arbitrators and will either argue (in the case of counsel) or deliberate (in the case of arbitrators) various issues presented in the hypothetical scenarios.
The course will begin with preliminary considerations bearing on the selection of the international arbitral process. The course will then address the five stages of the international arbitral process:
Stage I. The making and enforcement of the arbitration agreement.
Stage II. The selection and appointment of the arbitral tribunal.
Stage III. Preliminary proceedings, including procedural orders and interim relief.
Stage IV. The evidentiary hearing on the merits.
Stage V. The making and enforcement of the arbitral award.
Ben H. Sheppard, Jr. is a Distinguished Lecturer and Director of the A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center. Prior to his retirement, he was a partner at Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. in Houston, where he practiced from 1969-2005, and was co-chair of the firm's international dispute resolution practice.
5397 International Corporate Compliance - BOUTHILLETTE/JUDEN (offered in Spring 2008)
The International Corporate Compliance Course will address the fundamental requirements of an effective corporate compliance program and the design of such a program. The material will emphasize the application of legal and ethical principles in real life business situations and the application of various relevant laws (e.g., Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, trade sanctions, and data protection law) in an operational business environment.
5297 International Enforcement of Intellectual Property - COLMENTER (offered in Spring 2007)
This course examines, analyzes and studies the remarkable debate regarding how to enforce trademarks, patents and copyrights beyond national boundaries. Special emphasis will be placed on the differences and similarities between the diverse national intellectual property enforcement systems. Lecture topics will include the analysis of international standards for intellectual property enforcement and its implementation, application and practices in national jurisdictions. Also, topics such as international intellectual property litigation and international arbitration for trademarks, copyrights and patents will be covered. The course will be divided into three major blocks:
.......1. Overview and introductory themes.
.......2. IPR International Enforcement Standards.
.......3. International Intellectual Property Dispute and Resolution.
5297 International Intellectual Property - COLMENTER (offered in Fall 2008)
5297 International Law of Foreign Investment - SABATER/O'GORMAN (offered in Spring 2008)
If there is one area where international law has made tangible progress in recent years, that is foreign investment. Foreign investment is actively sought by both developed and developing countries and includes a variety of forms, from public infrastructure projects to complex oil and gas production agreements. This course will provide students with a basic knowledge of the standards of protection under international treaties, customary international law, and general principles of international law that countries, in order to foster and protect foreign investment, afford to corporate entities and individuals that invest in those countries. Also, the course will address the mechanisms which have emerged in recent years to resolve disputes between investors and states arising out of those standards of protection.
Familiarity with international law would be an asset.
5297 International Law of Foreign Investment - SABATER (offered in Summer I 2007)
If there is one area where international law has made tangible progress in recent years, that is foreign investment. This course intends to provide the student with basic knowledge of what are the rights and guarantees that investors can expect when they do business abroad. To this effect, students will have to become familiar with the standards of protection available to investors under international treaties, customary international law, and the general principles of international law. The course shall also address the mechanisms which have emerged in recent years to resolve disputes between investors and states.
5297 International Litigation - SHEPPARD (offered in Fall 2007)
INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION
Fall 2007, Mondays 4-6 p.m.
Ben H. Sheppard, Jr.
We live with a global economy. The daily volume of transnational, cross-border trade now exceeds the total volume of such trade through the end of the nineteenth century. Every lawyer in the modern era will deal frequently with international transactions. And every lawyer¿whether practicing purely in the transactional, advisory context or as a trail lawyer¿will need to know the fundamentals of what we refer to broadly as ¿International Litigation¿ in order to properly advise and represent clients.
For example, what is the extent to which a foreign company can do business in the United States without subjecting itself to the risk of litigation? Given the increasing number of products and services being manufactured or marketed by instrumentalities of foreign governments, how should other companies contract with them and to what extent and on what terms may such instrumentalities be subjected to the jurisdiction of United States courts? What are the procedures for obtaining service of process over defendants located in other countries and how can evidence be taken in other countries for use in the courts of another country? How does the United States litigation system, with jury trials, elected state court judges and broad pre-trial discovery procedures differ from those in most other parts of the world? What are the standards and procedures for the enforcement of foreign judgments both here and abroad? What is the efficacy of ¿forum selection clauses¿ whereby parties designate in their contract a forum for the resolution of any future disputes and should international contracts include such clauses?
The course will address these and many other important subjects, including:
Suits against foreign defendants in United States courts¿constitutional limits on the assertion of personal jurisdiction over foreign defendants, piercing the corporate veil to establish jurisdiction, the potential perils to foreign business executives traveling in the United States who may unwittingly subject their company to jurisdiction (the concept of ¿gothcha¿ jurisdiction).
Suits by foreign plaintiffs¿analysis of why the United States is a magnet for foreign plaintiffs and circumstances under which a court should dismiss a case under forum non-conveniens.
Foreign sovereign immunity¿drafting considerations in contracts when dealing with foreign states or their instrumentalities, meaning of ¿foreign state¿ and ¿commercial activity¿ and an overview of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
Recognition and enforcement of judgments¿examination of the standards here and abroad for recognition of foreign judgments, analysis of the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act, and detailed analysis of the strategic considerations for the defendant fact with a suit file abroad.
An introduction to the increasing important topic of international arbitration, including an analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the ¿New York Convention¿), an international treaty ratified by more than 130 nations providing both for the enforcement of agreements to arbitrate and for the recognition and enforcement by national courts of foreign arbitral awards.
The course will not only involve an in-depth analysis of the substantive law, but will also involve throughout close attention to the practical, strategic considerations that are critical to the effective representation of clients.
Ben H. Sheppard, Jr. is a Distinguished Lecturer and Director of the A. A. White Dispute Resolution Center. Prior to his retirement, he was a partner at Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. in Houston, where he practiced from 1960-2005, and was co-chair of the firm¿s international dispute resolution practice.
5297 International Petroleum Transactions - CUERVO (offered in Fall 2007)
The course will review the basics of international oil and gas business transactions. Starting with an analysis of the world¿s energy resources and energy demand and supply projections, the course will review the main industry participants, and the most important risks associated with international oil and gas investments. Special attention will be devoted to the different contractual models used by the industry and their historical backgrounds and effects. International petroleum transactions involve an understanding of foreign policy, economic theory and several legal systems. The course¿s objective is to introduce the student to this complex and specialized area of legal practice allowing him or her to identify the main legal issues involved.
5297 International Petroleum Transactions - CUERVO (offered in Spring 2007)
The course will review the basics of international oil and gas business transactions. Starting with an analysis of the world¿s energy resources and energy demand and supply projections, the course will review the main industry participants, and the most important risks associated with international oil and gas investments. Special attention will be devoted to the different contractual models used by the industry and their historical backgrounds and effects. International petroleum transactions involve an understanding of foreign policy, economic theory and several legal systems. The course¿s objective is to introduce the student to this complex and specialized area of legal practice allowing him or her to identify the main legal issues involved.
5397 International Trade & Environment - GAINES (offered in Fall 2006)
International trade law¿the law of the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, and other trade agreements---imposes various disciplines on national policy choices. For example, national laws and regulations cannot give domestic producers preferential treatment over foreign producers. On the other hand, certain exceptions are allowed for rules that protect human, animal, or plant life or health or conserve exhaustible natural resources. Beginning in the early 1990s, a number of trade cases successfully challenged certain national environmental regulations as violations of trade law, creating a flurry of interest in the trade/environment relationship that continues to generate cases, controversy, and academic analysis. Environmental interests have become actively involved in national and international debates over trade policy, such as the negotiation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. This course will begin with a review of the major issues in the broader policy debate over the benefits and risks of more open trade, and then explores the details of international trade law and how they impinge on domestic and international environmental policy. The course involves a substantial amount of international trade law, but always in the context of its relationship to environmental protection. Some notorious trade cases, such as the tuna-dolphin¿ case, the shrimp-turtle¿ case, the asbestos case, and the beef hormones case, will be covered. Some attention is also given to issues of public participation in trade negotiations and cases and institutional structures to promote better coordination of trade and environment policy.
5297 Introduction to Mexican Law - ZAMORA (offered in Fall 2006)
This course will provide an introduction to the Mexican legal system, concentrating on selected aspects of laws and legal institutions. We will begin with the history of Mexican law, before moving into constitutional law, separation of powers, structure of the judicial system, judicial procedure, and certain aspects of business and private law. The main text will be the book, Mexican Law (Oxford University Press, 2004), supplemented by other readings. A final exam will determine the grade in the course.
5397 Law & Literature - BAILEY (offered in Spring 2007)
Legal scholars have debated whether literature has any relationship with the law or whether literature can benefit lawyers in the practice of law. This course will help you to determine what your views are with respect to this debate. We will explore the potential intersection between law and literature by discussing substantive legal issues (and the roles of lawyers, judges, and juries) in the context of fictional literary texts. We will also discuss what role narrative/storytelling plays in litigation.
5297 Law & Psychiatry - WINSLADE (offered in Summer IV 2006)
Law and Psychiatry is a study of current topics in law and psychiatry, including civil commitment, right to treatment, right to refuse treatment, competency to stand trial, the insanity defense, and the psychiatrist's rold in the sentencing process.
5297 Law & Psychiatry - WINSLADE (offered in Summer IV 2008)
Law & Psychiatry is a study of current topics in law and psychiatry, including civil commitment, right to treatment, right to refuse treatment, competency to stand trial, the insanity defense, adn the psychiatrist's role in the sentencing process.
5397 Law and International Economic Relations - ZAMORA (offered in Spring 2006)
Basic concepts of international law, with a concentration on international economic issues that confront different legal regimes. Elective for 1L students only.
5297 Law of the Sea - GONYNOR (offered in Spring 2006)
This course will explore the various international and national legal regimes that govern issues involving the transit and use of the world¿s oceans, and marine related resources, with an emphasis on jurisdictional and environmental issues arising in the Gulf of Mexico area generally, and Texas territorial waters, in particular. Special emphasis will be made of coverage of the offshore energy industry in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, fishing and aquaculture industries, as well as newer uses of marine territories, e.g., offshore wind farms. Further attention will be paid to the interplay of U.S. statutory law with international conventions to which the U.S. is a signatory, and other international law.
5397 Law Practice Strategies - MCELVANEY (offered in Summer IV 2008)
5397 Law Practice Strategies - CRUMP (offered in Spring 2008)
Click here for the course outline.
5297 Law, Ethics, & Brain Policy - WINSLADE (offered in Spring 2006)
Covers legal and ethical aspects of brain injury (mental disorders, competency, and criminal responsibility), brain treatments (stem cell, psychosurgery, electroconvulsive therapy), brain imaging (permanently unconscious patients, lie detection), brain death policies, and the emerging field of neuroethics and law.
5297 Legal Drafting - TWOMEY (offered in Fall 2007)
This course covers the fundamental writing skills necessary for drafting normative legal documents, including various kinds of contracts (leases, employment agreements, settlement agreements, etc.), wills, legislation, by-laws, and policies. The course will focus on techniques applicable to all legal drafting, rather than on learning the doctrinal law of any one area. You will learn how to determine client objectives and how to incorporate those objectives into a final written document. We will cover the steps of drafting, paying particular attention to (1) the research necessary to determine the proper substance of the document, (2) the organization of the document, (3) drafting style, (4) legal consequences, and (5) rules of interpretation. You will learn to draft documents with accuracy, clarity, brevity, simplicity, and proper tone. You can expect a workshop-like, hands-on course with a substantial writing component. You also can expect to complete graded individual and collaborative assignments.
5297 Legal, Ethical, & Practical Issues of Lawyering (f - WINTON (offered in Spring 2006)
This course is designed to prepare students for becoming members of the legal profession by focusing on the legal and ethical requirements for maintaining a law practice. Topics include the legal, ethical and practical aspects of legal services marketing, setting and collecting legal fees, the legal organization and structure of a law practice, avoiding malpractice claims, professional and office employment relationships, and the use of technology. Coverage will also include identifying emerging legal issues in the providing of legal services.
5397 Legislation - BRUHL (offered in Fall 2006)
A large part of the work of most lawyers is interpreting statutory schemes. This class will introduce you to the legislative process that creates those statutes and teach you the theory and doctrine of statutory interpretation, including canons of construction and debates over textualism and other interpretive strategies. The goal of the course is to provide you with a working knowledge of statutes as a source of law, together with an understanding of the array of choices available to judges who are interpreting and applying statutes.
5397 Legislation - BRUHL (offered in Fall 2007)
For most lawyers today, reading and interpreting statutes is among the most important parts of their job. This class will introduce you to the legislative process that creates those statutes and teach you the theories and doctrines of statutory interpretation used in the state and federal courts. The course is especially useful for litigators and those interested in working in and with legislatures.
5397 Life and Health Insurance Law - CHANDLER (offered in Fall 2008)
Addresses federal and state regulation of the life and health insurance industry. The health insurance component addresses the major federal regulatory statutes (ERISA, COBRA, HIPPA), as well as state initiatives.
5397 Mass Tort Litigation - WATERS (offered in Spring 2008)
Prerequisites: None
Mass Tort Litigation is a comprehensive course discussing the significant aspects of mass tort procedure and practice. Students in this intensive course will study threshold substantive and procedural issues, including damages, problems of causation and choice of law issues. The course will discuss traditional case management tools, including conventional procedures for administering mass tort cases as well as other less conventional approaches. The class will also consider ¿global resolution¿ of nationwide mass tort cases. Models will include the Agent Orange litigation, the asbestos litigation, the Phen-fen litigation and the tobacco litigation.
Additionally, the course will address bankruptcy issues as they relate to mass tort litigation and the future of mass tort litigation, including growing concerns over ethics and legislation removing mass tort litigation from the courts.
5397 Medical Malpractice Litigation - ILER/KAPACINSKAS (offered in Fall 2007)
Medical Malpractice Litigation is a broad-based study of malpractice law and policy, including the effect of malpractice on health care access, quality, and cost; malpractice legal doctrine; and legislative reforms. A practical view of medical malpractice litigation in Texas from the beginning of a case to the end.
5297 Medical Malpractice Policy - PETERS (offered in Spring 2008)
Medical Malpractice Law and Policy will undertake a detailed study of the policy debate surrounding medical malpractice adjudication, including a brief review of malpractice law, a serious examination of the evidence of malpractice law's strengths and weaknesses, and an evaluation of the major legislative reform proposals (past and present).
5297 Mental Health Issues in Criminal Law - NEWTON (offered in Fall 2006)
This two-hour course will address a variety of mental health issues in criminal law, including mental incompetency; insanity; diminished capacity; aggravating and mitigating circumstances related to mental health in capital and non-capital cases; juvenile mental health issues; intoxication and substance abuse issues; mental retardation; and the use of expert witnesses. Throughout the semester, various mental health professionals will serve as guest speakers. There are no prerequisite courses. There is no assigned casebook. The instructor will provide reading materials before the beginning of the semester.
5297 Military Law - JANICKE (offered in Spring 2008)
A study of the primary military law sources. The course will be based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the procedure of courts-martial. It will also include a study of military incarcerations, including contemprorary controversies over military commissions at Guantanamo, and combatant status review tribunals operating there.
5297 Pain Management - GOLDBERG (offered in Summer I 2007)
The syllabus and first assignments are listed on the TWEN Board. To review the syllabus prior to the close of registration, please contact the professor.
5397 Practical Lawyering - HOFFMANL (offered in Fall 2007)
Taking doctrine as the starting point, this course focuses on how lawyers use relevant procedural law and other norms to effectuate practical litigation choices and considerations. This course may be of interest to anyone who is going to be involved in civil litigation in Texas. While there is some overlap between the subjects we will cover and a traditional procedure course, we plan on going beyond doctrine to discuss practical lawyering issues that routinely arise for litigators in state and federal court. Topics include: conducting the initial client interview, finding and framing the litigation story, considering forum shopping and other strategic considerations at the outset of the suit, writing engagement letters and drafting budgeting plans, dealing with the client, drafting the jury charge, planning and drafting in pleading practice, planning and drafting written discovery, planning and drafting discovery responses and objections, preparing witnesses and deposition practice, summary judgment considerations, mediation, settlement, and the mechanics, ethics and other thorny issues that arise in keeping time. There are no prerequisites for this course, however, students who have taken a first year elective "skills" course, such as Litigation Strategies or Practice Skills, are not eligible to take this course. There will be an exam. Probably short answer essay questions. Perhaps some MC questions (not totally sure). And in class participation will count to some extent (again, not totally sure yet, but certainly no more than 20%)
5297 Practicing Consumer Law - VENTURA/MCMILLEN (offered in Spring 2008)
The objective of this course is to teach the practical side of starting a consumer law practice. You will learn the ethical issues encountered by consumer lawyers, to set up and maintain office systems, marketing, client screening and relations, formal and informal discovery, expert witnesses, protective orders, settling cases, tax consequences to clients, trial of consumer cases, common defense and defense tactics, consumer class actions, damages, non-monetary relief, and fee shifting.
5297 Procedure III: Trial & Appellate Practice - COUNTISS (offered in Spring 2007)
A review of Texas Procedure in the trial and appellate courts. The course starts with the announcement of ready for trial, then examines the major procedural issues in the trial court, the courts of appeals, and the supreme court. The course is designed to give the student a good working knowledge of the rules and how they can be used in the courtroom, from an attorney with 45 years of trial and appellate experience.
7397 Project Finance - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring 2006)
Tactics and Techniques of Project Financing teaches students the practical knowledge needed to conceive of and execute project financing. The course follows the complete life cycle of a project financing from the original Finance Plan through sizing and structuring to debt placement with lenders.
Students will do case studies at each stage, which cases have been personally written by the professor based upon his experience with the Treasurers Department of ExxonMobil Corporation.
The official prerequisite is FINA 6335 Managerial Finance, which can be waived by the Finance Department if students had an equivalent finance course in their undergraduate degree. The FINA 6335 has as its prerequisites ACCT 6331 Financial Accounting and FINA 6387 Managerial Analysis (microeconomics), but the professor may not be concerned with the law students having this background.
If the law students do not come over to the Bauer College of Business to complete graduate petition forms requesting prerequisite waivers, they are likely to get prerequisite letters from us threatening them with being dropped from the Project Financing course. The prerequisite waivers need to be entered into our database to prevent the letters from being generated.
www.bauer.uh.edu/mba
5297 Property Crime in the Information Age - MOOHR (offered in Spring 2008)
Property Crime in the Information Age This course is concerned with two fields that are usually treated independently, criminal law and the law of information and intellectual property. It reviews the varied responses of the criminal law to a new offense, the unauthorized taking or use of information products and intellectual property. The course covers misappropriation of information, takings of trade secrets, criminal copyright infringement, and identity theft, among other crimes. Students who enjoy courses in, or are planning careers in, criminal law and/or intellectual property should find this course of interest.
5397 Regulation of Banking - HILL, J. (offered in Spring 2008)
Financial institutions are some of the most regulated businesses in the United States. This course addresses banking regulations related to chartering and branching limitations, safety and soundness requirements, and the extension of credit. We also discuss financial institutions beyond the typical bank, including credit unions, industrial loan companies, and government sponsored enterprises. Because banking law is constantly evolving, emphasis will be placed on current issues in banking regulation.
5297 Research in Foreign & International Law - LIU (offered in Fall 2006)
Tentative Syllabus:
1 Introduction
International Law
2 Public International Law Treaty Research
3 United Nations: Institutions and Key Documents
4 International Court of Justice: Institution and Resources
5 International Criminal Law: Key Documents and Cases
6 Human Rights: Institutions and Key Documents
7 Human rights: Regional Organizations and Key Sources
8 Maritime Law Research
9 Int¿l Trade Law I: WTO/GATT/IMF/World Bank
10 Int¿l Trade Law II: Intellectual Property Rights
11 Int¿l Trade Law III: Dispute Resolution: Arbitration
12 International Business Transactions, Conventions on International Sale of Goods (CISG) and UNCITRAL
13 Environmental Law
14 International Energy Law; International Tax Law (Guest lecture: Pete Egler)
15 International Health Law: WHO and IHRs
Regional Economic Integrations
16 EU: Institutions and Hierarchies of law
17 EU: Free movement of Goods, Services, Capital and Persons: Key Documents
18 NAFTA; CAFTA, EFTA, and APEC: Institutions and Key Documents
Foreign and Comparative Law
19 Comparative Law and Transnational Litigation: Research Strategy and Sources
20 Mexican Law Research (Guest Lecture: Zamora)
21 British Law Research (including law research in Austrian, New Zealand)
22 Canadian Law Research
23 Continental European Law Research
24 Chinese Law Research
25 Student Presentations
5297 Rural Health Law - DACSO (offered in Summer I 2006)
Course Description and Focus: This course will focus on the unique issues of the rural community and how health policy, laws and regulations impact health care services in those areas. Students will be required to read the assigned materials prior to each class and be prepared to discuss them. There will be several guest lecturers who will address traditional health law topics such as corporate practice of medicine, Medicare fraud and abuse, antitrust and similar laws and regulations as they apply to the rural health care provider.
Prerequisites: Second year and above, preferred. Completion of torts, contracts, constitutional law and corporations helpful.
Objectives of the Course: To expose the students to health law issues as they apply to the rural health care setting. Upon successful completion of the course the student will:
? Be familiar with the major legal issues in rural health.
? Understand the impact of State and Federal health policies on the rural health care provider
? Be familiar with public rural health programs.
? Understand the current and evolving structure of health care systems in rural areas.
Student comprehension of the course material will be demonstrated by student participation in class, presentations that are based on case study assignments and assigned readings on a particular health topic as well as a final examination. The final examination will be in essay form (3-5 questions) covering lectures, case studies and reading assignments.
7397 SEM: ADR - HUBER (offered in Fall 2006)
This is a "selected topics" seminar, with the topics determined largely by student interest. The entire grade is based on a research paper. The second half of the Seminar will be devoted to oral presentations by students about their paper topics. Any topic reasonably related to any form of dispute resolution is appropriate. Students can determine their own topic, or select from a list offered by the Professor.
7297 SEM: Advanced Civil Procedure - GIDI (offered in Fall 2008)
7397 SEM: Advanced Topics in Intellectual Property - JANICKE (offered in Spring 2007)
Seminar: Intellectual Property Law (7397). This is an advanced topics writing seminar designed for 3L and LL.M. students who have substantial background in at least some aspects of the subject. Topics need to be chosen and preliminarily researched prior to the beginning of the semester. The paper is due in three graded parts, due approximately one, two, and three months after the beginning of the semester. I regret that the due dates cannot be extended for any reason. (You will hate the first due date but like the second and third.)
The writing is expected to be based on investigative research into clearly defined questions, not an essay on the writer's opinions. It is therefore essential to construct and provide me at the beginning of the semester at least two or three fact-pattern questions you intend to try to answer in the paper. Footnotes need to be discursive, so that they clearly show the reader that what you said in the text is correct. Merely citing cases without further discussion in the note will not do it.
The key to success in this seminar is picking a topic that has ample authorities to be discussed. That is something you should investigate over the winter break, and let me know what you find. If you have trouble locating a topic, I suggest looking through the U.S. Code title that contains the main subject of your interest, e.g., Title 35 for patents, Title 17 for copyrights. Find a section or group of sections that have lots of reported cases. This will give you something to study, and will help formulate in advance the issues you want to address.
There is no required book for the seminar.
7397 SEM: Advanced Topics in IP - JANICKE (offered in Spring 2008)
This seminar is designed for 3L and LLM students. Each student is required to designate and obtain Prof. Janicke's approval for a writing topic before the December break. The seminar writing will consist of three equal-sized, graded parts submitted about one month apart through the semester, and an amalgamation submitted just before the final exam period. The first part will therefore be due about February 20. Hence the need for early topic selection. Suitable topics are those as to which 35-50 reported cases have been decided.
7397 SEM: Current Issues in Int'l Law - ZAMORA (offered in Spring 2006)
This seminar will examine key issues that confront the international economic system, including conflicts arising between national and international regimes, and will provide students with an opportunity to conduct individual research and write papers relating to these issues.
7397 SEM: Current Issues in Privatization - VOLOKH (offered in Fall 2008)
7397 SEM: Economic Regulation - BUSH (offered in Fall 2008)
The Antitrust and Regulated Industries courses examine two different legal approaches for controlling private economic power--the antitrust laws, which are designed to establish and maintain competitive markets, and regulatory statutes, which establish government agencies to supervise entry, rates, and service. These two approaches are examined in a way that focuses on the theoretical and practical difficulties of each approach.
The Regulated Industries course focuses on the regulation and deregulation of transportation (surface and air), communications (long distance telephone and cable), and "natural monopolies" (local telephone and electric power). Discussion topics include the question of when it is appropriate to regulate entry and rates, rather than leaving these business decisions to market control. Of particular concern will be the differences between the theoretical arguments in favor of deregulation in these industries and the actual experience with deregulation.
There are no prerequisites for either course. Both courses use materials that are the foundation of casebooks in revision, namely Free Enterprise and Economic Organization: Antitrust and Free Enterprise and Economic Organization: Government (De)Regulation by Flynn, First, and Bush.
7397 SEM: Energy Competition Policy: U.S. & Int'l Pers - BUSH (offered in Fall 2006)
This course examines global attempts to deregulate the production, transmission and distribution of energy. Special emphasis will be placed upon the impacts of competition policy in the electricity industry, in particular the application of the antitrust laws to mergers, anticompetitive conduct, and noncompetitive market structures that diminish the performance of deregulated electricity markets. Regulator attempts to deal with these and other issues related to market power in deregulated electricity markets will also be discussed.
There are no prerequisites for this course.
7397 SEM: Energy Law - WEAVER (offered in Spring 2007)
The Energy Law and Policy Seminar requires a 40-page paper on a topic of the student's choice, related to energy law or policy. The professor will offer a number of interesting topics to consider, but students may choose virtually any topic to explore in depth. Deadlines are set for the different stages of research: topic selection, bibliography, outline, first draft, presentation of your research to the class, and submission of a final paper. The class will meet weekly to discuss general energy issues of the day, but class readings are kept light so that students can focus on their research topic. No prerequisites, although it is much better if you have taken at least two prior courses in the energy/environment/resources area. 3 credit hours.
7397 SEM: Hot Topics in Criminal Law and Procedure - THOMPSON (offered in Spring 2008)
Students will study a variety of topics including the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the prosecution of corporate crimes, the interaction of federal and state law enforcement, the status of the war on drugs and the influences of the war on terror, immigration crimes, the legal controversy over lethal injection, and a variety of other topics. Several guest speakers will participate. The course will also include field trips to a prison and to federal court for a sentencing hearing.
7397 SEM: Law & Religion - GRIFFIN (offered in Spring 2008)
Law & Religion - This course examines the law's treatment of religion. In addition to analysis of the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment, the course examines conscientious objection, tort liability for churches, employment discrimination, and religion and politics, as well as some comparative materials on the international protection of religious freedom.
7397 SEM: Law & Religion - GRIFFIN (offered in Fall 2008)
This course examines the law's treatment of religion. In addition to analysis of the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment, the course examines conscientious objection, tort liability for churches, employment discrimination, and religion and politics, as well as some comparative materials on the international protection of religious freedom.
7297 SEM: Law of Sexual Assault - DUNCAN (offered in Spring 2007)
SEM: Law of Sexual Assault
This seminar provides an opportunity for an in-depth study of rape law. In addition to reading and discussing materials concerning the criminal law of sexual assault, students will work throughout the semester on writing a paper on a topic related to this area of the criminal law. In satisfaction of the senior writing requirement, each student¿s paper will be a minimum of twenty-five pages (exclusive of footnotes). The final grade will be comprised of various assignments throughout the semester, including drafting a thesis, bibliography, outline, rough draft, and class participation; the final paper will comprise approximately 40% of the student¿s final grade.
7297 SEM: Law, Ethics, & Brain Policy - WINSLADE (offered in Spring 2007)
Focuses on legal and ethical issues related to birth and brain development, brain injury, disorders of consciousness such as vegetative and minimally conscious states, and brain disease, treatment and research, including the impact of brain injury and disease on competency and criminal responsibility; the legal regulation of brain treatments such as psychosurgery, electroconvulsive therapy, and deep brain stimulation.
7297 SEM: Natural Resources Law - BURKE (offered in Fall 2006)
Natural Resources Law surveys the mechanisms for the management, use, and preservation of natural resources on federal land, including wildlife, wilderness, refuges rivers, national parks, minerals, and timber. This course considers the history, jurisdiction, and conflicts of the land management agencies (primarily the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior) under the various natural resources statutes such as the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, to name a few. Current issues to be considered include: the ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, the recently enacted Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (¿Roadless Rule¿), drilling for gas in Nine Mile Canyon in Utah (where there is the greatest concentration of Native American rock art in the United States), and drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.
7397 SEM: Natural Resources Law - FLATT (offered in Fall 2007)
Natural Resources Law surveys the mechanisms for the management, use, and preservation of natural resources on federal land, including wildlife, wilderness, refuges rivers, national parks, minerals, and timber. This course considers the history, jurisdiction, and conflicts of the land management agencies (primarily the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior) under the various natural resources statutes such as the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, to name a few. Current issues to be considered include: the ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (¿Roadless Rule¿), drilling for gas in Nine Mile Canyon in Utah (where there is the greatest concentration of Native American rock art in the United States), and drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.
Course Notes
Forty page research paper, exclusive of footnotes required. See your student handbook for further requirements.
7297 SEM: Regulation of Health Care Professionals - PATE (offered in Fall 2006)
The course is divided into two sections. The first and largest section addresses the regulation of health care quality:
SECTION I. THE REGULATION OF HEALTH CARE QUALITY
The Role of the Hospital Medical Staff, Management and Board
¿ the structure and function of the medical staff
¿ management vs. governance roles
¿ traditional credentialing
¿ credentialing vs. privileges
Hospital Liability for Decisions affecting Medical Staff Members
¿ protected classes
¿ improper motives
¿ economic credentialing
The Role of the States
¿ Licensing
¿ medical practice act
¿ corporate practice of medicine
¿ fee splitting
The Role of the Federal Government
¿ peer review organizations
¿ The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
¿ The Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986
¿ The National Practitioner Data Bank
¿ The Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank
Managed Care Organizations
¿ any willing provider laws
¿ deselection
¿ utilization review and utilization management
¿ managed care liability laws
¿ ERISA
¿ medical director liability
The second section addresses the regulation of health care cost:
SECTION II. THE REGULATION OF HEALTH CARE COSTS
Medicare
¿ payment mechanisms
¿ False Claims Act
¿ illegal remuneration (anti-kickback statute)
¿ Stark laws (self-referral prohibition)
Tax-Exempt Organizations
¿ private benefit
¿ inurement
¿ intermediate sanctions
¿ physician recruiting
Antitrust
7297 SEM: Reproductive Technologies and the Law - DAAR (offered in Spring 2007)
This course will explore the legal, medical and ethical world of assisted reproductive technologies, medical interventions used to aid in human conception. We will begin by discussing human reproduction and concepts of personhood, including government intervention in reproductive decision making. The main focus of the course will be charting the developments of reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, postmortem reproduction, and human cloning, taking into account the social and legal environment in which these advances emerged and now exist. Related issues including selective reduction of multiple pregnancy, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, cryopreservation of human eggs and embryos, and the sale of human gametes will be discussed. Finally, the class will explore recent developments in the field of human embryonic stem cell research. The course will provide a multidisciplinary framework for understanding these intriguing technologies. A seminar paper is required.
7397 SEM: Sandra Day O'Connor - JOYCE (offered in Spring 2006)
The jurisprudence of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Class discussions of selected readings. Papers, with presentations of drafts, constituting longitudinal studies of selected topics and themes (selected by students in consultation with instructor) spanning the Justice's 25 Terms of service on the Court.
7297 SEM: Securities Regulation - BRITTON (offered in Spring 2007)
Securities Regulation
A study of the basic principles of our unique system of securities regulation. Among the areas addressed are jurisdiction, the identification of securities and the analysis and evaluation of the disclosure philosophy as it pertains to domestic and international offerings as well as under state ¿blue sky¿ laws. Special emphasis is given to the importance of the principal exemptions form registration under the 1933 Act, and to consequent civil liabilities for unregistered offerings or inadequate disclosure in filed documents.
7297 SEM: The Law of Sexual Assault - DUNCAN (offered in Spring 2006)
SEM: The Law of Sexual Assault
This seminar provides an opportunity for an in-depth study of rape law. In addition to reading and discussing materials concerning the criminal law of sexual assault, students will work throughout the semester on writing a paper on a topic related to this area of the criminal law. In satisfaction of the senior writing requirement, each student¿s paper will be a minimum of twenty-five pages (exclusive of footnotes). The final grade will be comprised of various assignments throughout the semester, including drafting a thesis, bibliography, outline, rough draft, and class participation; the final paper will comprise approximately 40% of the student¿s final grade.
7397 SEM: White Collar Crime - FENTIMAN (offered in Fall 2008)
7297 SEM: Women & Health Law - KRAUSE (offered in Spring 2006)
Gender issues arise in many health care contexts, including reproductive rights, clinical research, disability law, confidentiality and informed consent, domestic violence, insurance coverage, and criminal law. By examining selected legal topics involving women and health care, this seminar will provide an opportunity for students to examine the gender implications of the current U.S. health care system.
Completion of Health Law I, concurrent enrollment in Health Law I, or permission of instructor required.
5397 Spanish for Lawyers - BOGGIANO (offered in Fall 2006)
Spanish for Lawyers*
LAW 5397.13802: Prof. A. Boggiano
(Friday, 12:30p-3:30p - Room to be announced in August)
Course Description: The main goal of this course is to build upon the language base that students bring to the classroom and develop their knowledge of academic Spanish by focusing on: (a) grammatical accuracy; and (b) vocabulary expansion. This course is pass/fail and will be conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisites: Substantial knowledge of Spanish is required. This course is designed for heritage speakers of Spanish. Heritage language speakers are individuals who are proficient in English and were raised speaking the Spanish language at home.
Placement exam: Since the abilities in the heritage language vary widely, with some students being highly proficient in Spanish while others only possess basic language skills, students interested in taking the course are required to take a placement exam to determine eligibility.
Contact Information: MFairclough@uh.edu
*SPANISH FOR LAWYERS IS A LANGUAGE CLASS. A COURSE TITLED "LATIN AMERICAN COMPARATIVE LAW" WILL BE OFFERED IN THE SPRING OF 2007. IT WILL BE TAUGHT IN SPANISH, AND IT WILL BE ABOUT LAW AND LEGAL LANGUAGE.
5397 Special Topics in Discrimination Law (Sexual Orien - BACON (offered in Spring 2007)
In this course we will explore the relationship between sexual orientation (and/or identity) and the law. We will examine the manner in which the state regulates sexuality, gender, gender roles, and sexual orientation, in a variety of substantive legal areas. We will explore how the law is influenced by theories or myths regarding homosexuality and sexual identity as well as prevailing styles of judicial reasoning. The doctrinal discussions will focus both on the substantive law and a number of larger themes: the nature/nurture debate and its legal ramifications; the public/private distinction as exhibited in the legal conflicts between free expression and ¿coming out¿ and the right to be let alone; the reason/desire distinction, as manifested through sexual status versus sexual conduct; and the equality/diversity distinction which arises in the context of assimilation versus difference.
5397 Special Topics in Discrimination Law (Sexual Orien - BACON (offered in Fall 2008)
5297 Sports Law - THORNTON (offered in Summer I 2007)
The course will examine both aspects of Professional and Amateur Sports. Player Contracts, collective bargaining , antitrust issues, Intellectual Property and Torts in Sports will be a major focus. The course will also examine Amateur sports topics such as Eligibility and the NCAA.
5397 Storytelling - PERDUE (offered in Spring 2008)
Effective use of the narrative is a recent development in trial advocacy but is now recognized as fundamental to courtroom persuasion. The guiding axiom is that ¿a trial is not a debate over a `stack of facts¿ but rather a contest of stories.¿
Students will be exposed to the fundamentals of constructing and telling a story persuasively in the trial setting.
While the principles of narrative presentation will be addressed in various lectures, a significant portion of the class will consist of student participation in various dramatic, speech, and courtroom stimulated exercises.
STUDENT EXERCISES/BASIS FOR GRADES:
A. Written Assignments
1. The first assignment will challenge each student to take an appellate opinion of their choice, choose either the plaintiff or defense side, research the case, and then construct in writing a story (the facts of the case) (not to exceed six pages double spaced) as he/she would tell it during opening statement.
2. The student will prepare in writing (not to exceed four pages, double spaced) the cross-examination of one of the major and contending candidates for the U.S. presidency.
3. Prepare an evaluation and summary of the helpful and significant techniques the student has learned through lecture and exercise.
B. Oral Assignment (Last 4 Scheduled Classes)
Each student will give a twenty minute closing argument from mock case materials.
7397 Strategy of Project Finance (MBA Course taught @ Bauer College) - ARBOGAST (offered in Fall 2008)
7397 Tactics and Techniques of Project Finance - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring 2008)
Click here for course outline.
7397 Tactics and Techniques of Project Finance (Taught - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring 2007)
The Techniques and Tactics of Project Financing (PF) teaches the financial know-how and negotiating approaches needed by Borrowers to implement Project Finance transactions. The Course builds upon the broader strategic material covered in The Strategy of International Project Financing. However, Techniques and Tactics will go into more depth on topics such as credit assessment, deal structuring, choosing advisers, and the final negotiation and documentation of a financing.
To present the material in a practical setting, Case Studies will be extensively used in this course. The cases used will emphasize the energy and petrochemical industries. Multiple cases involving the Terrasia Petroleum Products Pipeline (Teppline) and the Soro Dondar petrochemical complex (Soro Dondar) will be used to allow students to observe the evolution |
