Previous Selected Topics Courses (Courses from past 3 years)

5297 _Mediation Externship - HEPPARD (offered in Summer III  2009)

5397 _Mediation Externship - HEPPARD (offered in Summer III  2009)

5297 _Mediation Externship - WILLIS (offered in Spring  2010)

5397 _Mediation Externship - WILLIS (offered in Spring  2010)

5397 _Mediation Externship - WILLIS (offered in Fall  2009)

5297 _Mediation Externship - WILLIS (offered in Fall  2009)

5197 _Mediation Process - WILLIS (offered in Spring  2010)

5197 _Mediation Process - WILLIS (offered in Fall  2009)

5197 _Mediation Process - HEPPARD (offered in Summer III  2009)

7297 _SEM: Disaster Law: Katrina, Ike & Beyond - DREW (offered in Fall  2009)

5297 A Century of Health Care Reform - ORENTLICHER (offered in Spring  2010)
This course will provide historical and contemporary perspectives on the effort to enact universal access to health care in the United States. Beginning with proposals nearly a century ago, the course will trace the path to the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 and then consider more recent legislative approaches. Readings will include comparisons of the US health care systems with universal health care systems in other countries, the different legislative proposals before Congress in 2009 (and possibly the final version of legislation enacted), and strategies to reduce health care spending so that universal access is affordable. The course also will consider the similarities with and differences between a public program for health care and public programs for food, housing and income supplementation in the United States. This will allow us to understand better the kind of legislation that could ensure universal access to health care. The course grade will be based primarily on an in-class, final exam.

5297 Advanced Appellate Advocacy - ROACH/DAVIS (offered in Spring  2010)
This course goes beyond the normal brief writing and oral argument currently taught in the Appellate Advocacy class and truly qualifies as advanced appellate advocacy in the real world. The class would focus on the not infrequently encountered situation where the briefing has already been done by non-appellate specialists before the appellate specialist is ever hired. In other words, the appellate specialist is hired to handle the case after the briefing is completed but before the oral argument is presented, so the appellate specialist could only present the oral argument and then maybe, if the opportunity arises, file a post-submission brief. The challenge is that in this situation the briefs drafted by the non-appellate specialist frequently do not present the best arguments or offer the best chance for the client to win on appeal.

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 Bankruptcy - BOHM/KAIM/RIPLEY (offered in Spring  2009)
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 III) - 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 Negotiation - HEDGES (offered in Fall  2009)
This course will focus on in-depth analysis, planning and practice of preferred systems and techniques for complex negotiations involving both hard and soft interests. The analytical skills to be emphasized are (1) Identification of Interests, (2) Analysis and improvement of each party's BATNA, (3) Development of options, and (4) Assurance of transparency, implementation and enforcement. Class size is limited to 12 students in order to assure the faculty/student ratio necessary for in-depth analysis and training.

5397 Advocacy Survey - LAWRENCE (offered in Spring  2010)
This unique course is designed to provide students the opportunity to experience a wide spectrum of legal advocacy. Course segments include Pre-Trial Litigation, Trial Advocacy, Appellate Advocacy, Negotiation, Mediation, and Arbitration. Each course segment contains a brief overview of 1) the legal underpinnings for each topic area and, 2) the skills necessary to be an effective advocate in that topic area.

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  2009)
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.

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  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 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 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 Bankruptcy Tax - ASOFSKY (offered in Fall  2009)
This course examines the common tax problems of debtors in bankruptcy and other financially troubled taxpayers, with emphasis on corporations in chapter 11. We necessarily study the substantive tax rules governing debt restructuring set forth in the Internal Revenue Code and the related Income Tax Regulations, but also those that appear in the Bankruptcy Code and Rules. The impact of the Bankruptcy Code’s procedures on the determination and collection of tax liabilities is central to the course. Students must have a basic grounding in Federal income tax as a prerequisite for the course. A student who has completed a course in corporate tax will have some advantage, but we will go slowly enough through the corporate issues so that any student giving it the appropriate time and attention will not be lost. Also, although a basic bankruptcy course would be useful, we will impart those bankruptcy principles necessary for a tax professional to give contextual advice. Because much of this material will be new, preparation for class is essential. So is classroom participation. The development of ideas in the classroom will bring together the two different disciplines in a meaningful way. There will be occasional brief lectures to contain the amount of assigned reading, but a student who does not actively participate will deprive both himself and his peers of the full benefit of the course.

5297 Baseball & the Law - THORNTON (offered in Summer IV  2009)
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 & the Law - THORNTON (offered in Fall  2008)

5297 Baseball & 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.

5397 Business Tax - MOLINA (offered in Spring  2010)
This course will survey the federal tax laws as they apply to corporations (so-called "C" and "S" corporations) and their shareholders and to partnerships and partners. The course is designed for J.D. students interested in tax and who don't plan to take additional tax courses while in the J.D. program or for future corporate/ business transaction lawyers who want a well-grounded introduction to business entity taxation.

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.

5297 Child Dependency Clinic I. (Juvenile Advocacy) - LUTZ (offered in Spring  2007)

5297 Child Dependency Clinic II (Juvenile Advocacy) - LUTZ (offered in Spring  2007)

5397 Child Dependency Clinic II (Juvenile Advocacy) - LUTZ (offered in Spring  2007)

5497 Child Dependency Clinic II (Juvenile Advocacy) - LUTZ (offered in Spring  2007)

5597 Child Dependency Clinic II (Juvenile Advocacy) - LUTZ (offered in Spring  2007)

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.

5197 Civil Practice Clinic II - HEPPARD/STALDER (offered in Spring  2009)

5197 Civil Practice Clinic II - HEPPARD/STALDER (offered in Summer III  2009)

5197 Civil Practice Clinic II - HEPPARD/STALDER (offered in Spring  2010)

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.

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 Comparative Competition Law - Distribution - DEVLIN (offered in Summer IV  2009)
This class examines and compares the application of antitrust and competition law to business relationships, both horizontal and vertical, involved in product distribution (including franchising). Emphasis will be placed on U.S. antitrust and European competition laws with discussion of selected other national laws (including those of Latin American countries and China). Among the areas to be examined are: (1) overview of competition law and its development; (2) horizontal and vertical relationships; (3) unilateral conduct and abuse of dominant position; and (4) a brief look at merger issues. The casebook is Global Antitrust Law and Economics – Elhauge & Geradin (Foundation Press).

5297 Comparative Consumer Law (with emphasis on European Union) - RIEFA (offered in Spring  2010)
The course will start with a study of Constitutional European Consumer Law to enable students to fully understand the legal framework within which consumer protection operates in Europe. The classes will then focus on substantive European Consumer Law and some key areas of study including trade practices, unfair contractual terms and access to justice. Where appropriate students will be invited to compare and contrast American protection to that of the EU. Outline

5297 Comparative Health Policy - Flood (offered in Spring  2009)
Traditionally, health law scholarship has focused on the physician-patient relationship; however, increasingly, lawyers are turning their attention to larger system issues and the complex web of relationships between governments, private insurers, doctors and other health professionals, public and private hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and patients. This course will focus on the structure and dynamics health care systems internationally. It will analyze the variety of approaches taken internationally to the financing and allocation of health insurance, health services and to the regulation of the quality of health services. It will also critically assess the role of the judiciary in shaping health care systems. Issues to be explored may include what different theories of distributive justice demand in terms of access to health care, the extent of market failure in health insurance and health service markets, constitutional and administrative challenges to various health systems how to determine what services are publicly funded and means of review of these decisions, how to ensure the accountability of decision-makers, regulation of private insurance, social insurance and privately financed health care and approaches and responses to systemic failings such as in the tainted blood scandal. ================= This course will meet as follows: Monday, Jan. 5th 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6th 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7th 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8th 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9th 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12th 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13th 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

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  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.

5397 Consumer Law Clinic II - MCELVANEY (offered in Spring  2009)

5297 Contract Drafting - TOEDT (offered in Spring  2010)
The goal of this course is to help students prepare for a type of assignment they will likely see throughout their careers: that of drafting, reviewing, analyzing, explaining, and negotiating contracts. Students will: • explore various legal- and business issues that might need to be addressed in various types of contract (see the list below); • study principles of plain-English drafting for contracts and other legal documents; • review the etiquette and ethics of contract negotiations; • survey some legal pitfalls that could lead to jail time for both clients and lawyers, such as backdating contracts, violating antitrust laws, failing to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Act obligations, paying off foreign officials, etc. • discuss how to tactfully advise clients (and supervising lawyers) about their options, so as to earn a reputation as a deal-maker, not a deal-breaker; • compare and contrast the roles of outside- versus in-house counsel in contract negotiations; • consider ways of positioning the client for future litigation, just in case. Depending in part on student input, the types of contract to be studied could include, for example, employment agreements, lease agreements, distribution agreements, services agreements, license agreements, stock-option agreements, change-of-control agreements, arbitration agreements, settlement agreements, etc. Professor Toedt plans to invite experienced local lawyers to serve as guest lecturers about specific types of contract. A business background is helpful but not required; all necessary business information will be covered in class and/or in reading materials. Grades will be based on the following, not necessarily in any particular order of importance: (i) a take-home, open-book final, focusing in part on one or more practical exercises; (ii) occasional open-book practical exercises for homework; and (iii) class participation.

5297 Contract Drafting - TWOMEY (offered in Spring  2010)
This course focuses on the fundamental writing skills necessary for drafting norm-setting legal documents such as contracts and private and public legislation. In particular, this course will help students develop skills in communicating with clients regarding the client’s objectives and in incorporating the client’s objectives into contract terms. During the first ten weeks of the course we will discuss finding and using form contracts, explaining contract provisions to your client, drafting contracts in plain unambiguous terms, reviewing and analyzing existing contract provisions, and contract organization. During the last four weeks of the course we will discuss drafting techniques unique to private and public legislative drafting. The class will not focus on any one particular type of contract. Instead, the course will cover, in detail, drafting techniques specific to contracts in general. There is no final for this course. Grades for this course are based on two projects, including: (1) drafting a contract, and (2) drafting a piece of legislation.

5297 Criminal Defense Clinic - Juvenile II (Juvenile Advocacy) - LUTZ (offered in Spring  2007)

5397 Criminal Defense Clinic - Juvenile II (Juvenile Advocacy) - LUTZ (offered in Spring  2007)

5297 Criminal Defense Clinic-Juvenile I (Juvenile Advocacy) - LUTZ (offered in Spring  2007)

5497 Criminal Practice Clinic - HILLB (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)

5497 Criminal Practice Clinic - HILLB (offered in Spring  2009)
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, theft by deception, 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.

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 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 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.

5297 Death Penalty Clinic - JEU/BOURLIOT (offered in Spring  2010)
Death Penalty Clinic explores the substantive law, investigative techniques, and post-conviction appellate remedies applicable in capital (death penalty) 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. Students investigate claims related to the guilt-innocence and punishment phases of capital murder trials and assist attorneys in investigating and researching legal claims. Although the same substantive material is covered in both Innocence Investigations and Death Penalty Clinic, the classes differ in terms of the type of case work performed by students. Death Penalty Clinic students work solely on cases where a criminal defendant has been convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. In many of these cases, the defendant has a pending execution date. Consequently, it is important that Death Penalty Students be able to adhere to deadlines set by the course instructor.

5297 Disabilities & the Law (Special Education) - BORRECA (offered in Spring  2009)
This course will provide a review and analysis of current case law and litigation related to children with disabilities and public schools. Focus on the federal and state laws that assure children with disabilities of a free appropriate public education. Emphasis will be placed on due process procedures and other procedural safeguards, discipline, program accessibility, and application of Least Restrictive Environment alternative principles to special education programming. This course will provide the student with practical insights into the administrative law process and how such cases are addressed by federal district and circuit courts.

5297 Doing Business Down Under--Australia & New Zealand - WALKER (offered in Spring  2009)
This class focuses on the company laws of Australia and New Zealand. Each of these jurisdictions copied United Kingdom company law and later modified that law. There will be a brief discussion of the company laws of the former British enclaves in the Southern Hemisphere. The purpose of that discussion is to highlight the similarities between these jurisdictions which all share the same legal heritage: once you understand the company law in one of these jurisdictions, it is relatively easy to pick up the company law of a cognate jurisdiction. So the first learning from this class is that there are five major Southern Hemisphere jurisdictions that have similar company laws (Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong). Note also that most South Pacific jurisdictions have similar company laws (because they follow British, Australian or New Zealand models). While this class has academic and theoretical interest, the main focus of the class is on the types of transaction planning issues that confront a practising lawyer. The take home exam puts these issues squarely before the student. The take home exam assumes that the student is an associate in a U.S. law firm advising a U.S. company on business transactions in Australian and New Zealand. So the second learning from this class is the understanding of legal transaction planning issues in Australia and New Zealand from the point of view of a U.S. commercial actor. The introductory lectures in this class conceptualise company and securities law in the former British enclaves in the Southern hemisphere in three ways. We first look at the initial reception of UK law in the Southern hemisphere up until the adoption of the Company Act 1948 (UK). This part of the story is variously called, “transplanting”, “path dependence” or “diffusion”. Second, we look at the attempts to carve new pathways in the region that depart from UK law; here, Australia provides a striking example. Third, we look at the ways in which these jurisdictions have borrowed from and influenced each other. This process of “rediffusion” is particularly evident in Malaysia (influenced by modern Australian law) and those small South Pacific jurisdictions that have adopted versions of New Zealand law. The general scope of the class is as follows: • The UK background; reception of the relevant UK law (especially the Limited Liability Act 1855, UK and the Company Act 1948 (UK) in the British enclaves in the Southern hemisphere (India, Hong Kong, Singapore; Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand; abandonment of the 1948 Act and subsequent cross-jurisdictional influences; • The substantive law in Australia and New Zealand including: short history; operating environment; State and federal powers in Australia; contextual issues (tax rates etc.); choice of entity (companies versus sole traders, trusts and partnerships); formation/incorporation; company management and governance including directors’ duties, and, corporate finance with special focus on securities regulation. • Transaction planning from the point of view of a U.S. domiciled company undertaking real estate acquisitions in Australian and New Zealand with various exit strategies including stock exchange listing. This is a theme that runs throughout the class and is the subject of the take home exam.

5297 Doing Business Down Under--Australia & New Zealand - WALKER (offered in Spring  2010)
Preliminary Announcement This class will be taught by Professor Gordon R Walker of La Trobe University School of Law, Melbourne, Australia. No prior knowledge of the subject area is required. Seven days of class are scheduled. The mode of assessment is a take home exam. A detailed synopsis of the lectures plus materials will be posted prior to class. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This class focuses on the company and securities laws of Australia and New Zealand. Each of these jurisdictions copied United Kingdom company law and later modified that law. There will be a brief discussion of the company laws of the former British enclaves in the Southern Hemisphere. The purpose of that discussion is to highlight the similarities between these jurisdictions which all share the same legal heritage: once you understand the company law of one of these jurisdictions, it is relatively easy to pick up the company law of a cognate jurisdiction. So the first learning from this class is that there are five major Southern Hemisphere jurisdictions that have similar company and securities laws (Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong). Note also that most South Pacific jurisdictions have similar company laws (because they follow British, Australian or New Zealand models). While this class has academic and theoretical interest, the main focus of the class is on the types of transaction planning issues that confront a practising lawyer. The take home exam puts these issues squarely before the student. The take home exam assumes that the student is an associate in a U.S. law firm advising a U.S. company on business transactions leading to public listing in Australian and New Zealand. So the second learning from this class is the understanding of legal transaction planning issues in Australia and New Zealand from the point of view of a U.S. commercial actor. The introductory lectures in this class conceptualise company and securities law in the former British enclaves in the Southern hemisphere in three ways. We first look at the initial reception of UK law in the Southern hemisphere up until the adoption of the Company Act 1948 (UK). This part of the story is variously called, “transplanting”, “path dependence” or “diffusion”. Second, we look at the attempts to carve new pathways in the region that depart from UK law; here, Australia provides a striking example. Third, we look at the ways in which these jurisdictions have borrowed from and influenced each other. This process of “rediffusion” is particularly evident in Malaysia (influenced by modern Australian law) and those small South Pacific jurisdictions that have adopted versions of New Zealand law. The general scope of the class is as follows: • The UK background; reception of the relevant UK law (especially the Limited Liability Act 1855 (UK) and the Company Act 1948 (UK) in the British enclaves in the Southern hemisphere (Hong Kong, Singapore; Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand; abandonment of the 1948 Act and subsequent cross-jurisdictional influences; • The substantive law in Australia and New Zealand including: short history; operating environment; state and federal powers in Australia; contextual issues (tax rates etc.); choice of entity (companies versus sole traders, trusts and partnerships); formation/incorporation; company management and governance including directors’ duties, and, corporate finance with special focus on securities regulation. • Transaction planning from the point of view of a U.S. domiciled company undertaking real estate acquisitions in Australian and New Zealand with various exit strategies including stock exchange listing. This is a theme that runs throughout the class and is the subject of the take home exam.

5297 Doing Deals - MOLL/MAIERSON (offered in Spring  2010)
This two-hour class will take students through the life cycle of private and public company mergers and acquisitions from the perspective of a practicing lawyer. Using actual deal documents, we will analyze how the business agreement between the parties gets translated into contract terms, as well as the role of the M&A lawyer in advising, negotiating and documenting the transaction. The course will be co-taught by Professor Douglas Moll and Ryan Maierson, a partner at Baker Botts L.L.P. Completion of a Business Organizations or Corporations course is a prerequisite to enrollment.

5297 Doing Deals - MOLL/MAIERSON (offered in Spring  2009)
This two-hour class will take students through the life cycle of private and public company mergers and acquisitions from the perspective of a practicing lawyer. Using actual deal documents, we will analyze how the business agreement between the parties gets translated into contract terms, as well as the role of the M&A lawyer in advising, negotiating and documenting the transaction. The course will be co-taught by Professor Douglas Moll and Ryan Maierson, a partner at Baker Botts L.L.P. The class will be limited to 16 students, and completion of a Business Organizations or Corporations course is a prerequisite to enrollment.

5397 E-Discovery - Chaumette (offered in Summer III  2009)
The increased presence of technology in the workplace has also required significant changes in the way litigation, and specifically discovery, is handled. Adapting to these changes, litigants face an ever-changing arena referred to as electronic discovery, which can be a veritable treasure trove or minefield depending on the level of preparation taken by the client and the client’s counsel prior to the arrival of any legal dispute. This course will outline the major issues and considerations for lawyers involved in the electronic discovery process and prepare the students to face these challenges in their practice.

5397 Elder Law - LOOTENS (offered in Fall  2009)
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.

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 Election Law - DOUGLASS (offered in Fall  2009)

5397 Energy Law: Emerging Markets - SKELTON (offered in Spring  2010)
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. It gives an insight into the types of problems that are encountered when working in countries that provide business opportunities but have weak legal institutions and murky business cultures, such as corruption, human rights abuses, regulatory expropriation, uncertain property rights and government authorizations, and poor dispute resolution and law enforcement mechanisms. The casebook includes introductory text material with a series of problems derived from practice, as well as cases and an analysis of legislative and regulatory materials. The course will also provide practical applications of practice techniques and negotiating skills that may be used in resolving the problems encountered in emerging markets.

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.

7397 Enron, Ethics & 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.

5297 European Union Energy Law - TALUS (offered in Spring  2010)
This course will focus on the regulation of EU natural gas and electricity markets. In addition to the sector specific regulation, the course will examine how EU competition laws have been used to shape the energy sector. Issues that will be tackled during the course include: competition in EU energy markets (access to markets, natural monopoly segments of the energy sector and so-on), the green energy and efforts to cut carbon emissions (including energy savings), the role of various players (private companies, EU institutions and Member States) in the EU energy market liberalisation and the relationship between the EU energy policy objectives: security of supply, sustainability and competition. In addition to the internal aspects of EU energy law and policy, also the external issues such as the Energy Charter Treaty and the external legal relations with the main energy supplying countries will be examined. In addition to the core EU energy law issues, the more general EU legal order will be described where necessary. It is therefore not required that the students have prior studies in EU law. The course material will include some of the most recently enacted laws, recent case law, policy papers and other recently published material on various topics. In addition to the final exam, the class will do a number of case studies during the course. The course material: 1.        Selected chapters from the 2010 edition (forthcoming in January 2010) of the ELRF collection ?EU Energy Law and Policy?. 2.        Selected chapters from the recent book ?EU-Russia energy relations?. 3.        Main legislative instruments that regulate EU energy markets (Energy Market Directives and Regulations, Renewable Directives) 4.        Main case law from the European Court of Justice and the European Commission (together with case commentaries). 5.        The Energy Charter Treaty related material. 6.        Selected policy documents from late 2009 and early 2010. Much of the material will be available in an electronic format.

5297 Federal Courts - ROSENTHAL (offered in Spring  2010)
Welcome to Federal Courts. This is above all a course about power. This course deals with the if and when a federal court will decide a question, not how it will decide. The if and the when are frequently as important as the how. This course will cover a number of topics concerning federal jurisdiction and the relationship between federal and state courts. The course material is organized around three main themes: (1) the federal courts’ proper role in the national government (separation of powers); (2) the proper relationship between the federal courts and state courts and the federal courts and state governments (federalism); and (3) methods for enforcing federal rights against government officials. Specific topics include: congressional control over the jurisdiction of the federal courts; justiciability doctrines such as standing,ripeness, mootness, and political questions; federal question and diversity jurisdiction, including supplemental jurisdiction; Section 1983 suits; the 11th Amendment and state sovereign immunity; abstention doctrines; habeas corpus; and federal appellate jurisdiction, including United States Supreme Court review of state court judgments.

5297 Federal Courts - ESKRIDGE (offered in Fall  2008)

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.

7397 Finance & Ethics - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring  2009)

7397 Finance & Ethics - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring  2010)

5397 First Amendment Rights: Freedom of Speech - BUCKLES, E. (offered in Spring  2010)
This is a survey course on the First Amendment’s Free Speech jurisprudence. The course will include discussion on the history of Free Speech jurisprudence, and will discuss the current day challenges in bringing a successful Free Speech claim. Grades will be determined based upon a final exam and class participation.

5297 First Amendment Rights: Freedom of Speech - BUCKLES, E. (offered in Summer I  2009)
This is a survey course on the First Amendment’s Free Speech jurisprudence. The course will include discussion on the history of Free Speech jurisprudence, and will discuss the current day challenges in bringing a successful Free Speech claim. Grades will be determined based upon a final exam and class participation.

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.

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.

5297 Gaming & 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 Gasoline: A Legal History - DEVLIN (offered in Spring  2009)
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.

5297 Guardianship Law - OLSEN (offered in Spring  2009)
Most probate practice involves the planning for and the ultimate disposition of a decedent’s property at death. However, in addition to heirships, wills and the administration of the estates of decedents, courts exercising probate jurisdiction in Texas are also responsible for guardianships and involuntary civil commitments. This course will deal with those two aspects of probate practice. The course will be divided into two distinct segments. The first segment, which will be the bulk of the class time allotted, will deal with guardianships. The remaining segments will deal with involuntary civil commitments. Almost every lawyer that I know well has confided in me that at some point in his or her career, the lawyer has received a call from a friend, a relative, another lawyer or other professional, or a client involving either guardianship or mental health law. It does not seem to matter if the lawyer is a partner in a big law firm specializing in some arcane aspect of transactional work or a solo practitioner primarily representing debtors in a consumer bankruptcy practice, when someone the lawyer knows has a close friend or loved one who seems to be going senile and may have been swindled by a caretaker or is talking about killing himself, the person with the problem will call “their lawyer” for help. Odds favor the lawyer receiving the call in the late evening or on a weekend or holiday. What you learn in this course will enable you to: 1. properly advise your client (or prospective client). 2. represent the client or make a good referral. 3. dazzle the person calling you with the depth of your legal knowledge. 4. protect a vulnerable human being from harm or neglect. 5. feel good about your career choice. 6. impress your family and loved ones with your knowledge, resourcefulness and compassion. Course Requirements: 1. You grade will be based primarily upon a paper that will be assigned to you at the end of the guardianship segment of the course. The paper will deal with some unanswered—or very murky—questions in Texas guardianship law, which will give you an opportunity to display what you have learned, apply your learning to some very real current issues in the area and practice your research and writing skills. Your grade will be based upon how well you analyze the issues raised in fact situation presented, your research and the quality of your writing. Your paper should be of publishable quality and at least ten pages long (double spaced) with appropriate use of citations. Your sources should be placed at the end of the paper and your citations will not be counted toward fulfilling the ten page requirement. 2. Classroom participation can raise your grade up to 0.5 points. Consequently, regular attendance and participation in class discussions is in your self interest. 3. Go on a visit to one of my court’s wards with Ms. Amy Rigby, my court’s investigator. Amy’s telephone number is 713-368-6730. She will be visiting us for an hour during the first weeks of class. 4. Attend a guardianship or a mental health hearing, although attending one of each would be of greater educational benefit. (In Harris County, Probate Courts #3 and #4 hear all of the mental health cases. All four of the probate courts hear guardianship cases. Below you will find the links to the web sites of the four probate courts, which indicate the days and times on which each court holds guardianship hearings.) Course goals: 1. Alert the students to the ethical issues facing guardianship and mental health practitioners as well as lawyers who may deal from time to time with an incapacitated and/or mentally ill person. 2. Develop an awareness of the psychological issues facing wards, proposed patients and their families in dealing with the legal system. 3. Create a desire to work to improve the legal system with respect to guardianships and mental health law. 4. Develop competence in the areas of law taught.

5397 Health & Human Rights - LUNSTROTH (offered in Spring  2010)
Health is a scientific norm, a moral norm, a legal norm and a political norm. H&HR examines health in the human rights context. After an introduction to international institutions and laws regarding health, topics will include torture, human experimentation, the role of the military in realizing the right to health, humanitarian NGOs, access to drugs, access to health workers, the role of poverty, development and globalization (social determinants of health), and the role and intentions of the World Health Organization. The idea of health as a political norm, e.g. dignity, justice and the norm of democratic inclusion, will be used as an overarching moral/legal framework to critique the various real-time scenarios considered in the class.

5397 Health Legislation - GRAY (offered in Fall  2009)
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.

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 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.

5397 Human Rights - LEWIS (offered in Fall  2009)
This course serves as an introduction to the rapidly expanding area of international human rights law. The concept, foundations, and sources for human rights law will be covered as well as the avenues for having governments adopt and respect such rights. The enforcement of human rights laws domestically, in both civil and criminal cases, and regionally and internationally, through intergovernmental institutions, will be studied. A special focus of the course will be the developing area of responsibility for the protection of human rights by multinational corporations and intergovernmental economic institutions, such as the World Bank and the World Trade Organization.

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.

5197 Immigration Clinic II - HoffmanG/Velardo (offered in Spring  2010)

5297 Immigration Law & Business - BECK (offered in Summer IV  2009)
The course covers the law and procedures for employment based immigration including: temporary work and business visas; procedures at US Consulates abroad; obtaining permanent visas ("green cards")through employment in the United States; Department of Labor (certifications); requirements for U.S. employers hiring immigrants; employer sanctions; unfair employment practices related to immigrants.

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 Institutional Responses to Climate Change in a Post-Kyoto World - BURNS (offered in Spring  2009)
International Institutional Responses to Climate Change in a Post-Kyoto World While the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established binding commitments for reducing anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gas emissions, it is universally agreed that much more dramatic cuts are needed in a post-Kyoto Protocol agreement, and that, ultimately, developing countries must cooperate in effectuating this objective. This course will examine the emerging architecture for the medium-term successor to the Kyoto Protocol, guided by principles set forth in the Bali Roadmap adopted at last year’s Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, as well as potential configurations for a comprehensive long-term agreement, which most scientists concur must reduce emissions by 80-90% to avert many of the most dire potential ramifications of climate change in this century and beyond. The focus will be on the potential effectiveness and equitable issues associated with various proposals. Finally, the course will examine potential alternative/parallel litigation approaches that could potentially help to induce major greenhouse gas emitting States to make the requisite cuts in emissions, or which might help to ensure compensation to those most severely affected by climate change.

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 Intellectual Property Strategy & Management - CLARKSON (offered in Fall  2009)
Course Description This 3-credit course examines the legal and managerial issues facing an IP or information-based organization from its startup phase through either an initial public offering (IPO) or an acquisition by another firm. The course will cover a range of topics including forming the initial venture and structuring its ownership, obtaining financing, operating the venture, maintaining corporate records and databases, and developing and pursuing an exit strategy such as IPO or acquisition. These topics will be explored in the context of organizations whose primary assets are intangible, and thus the course will comparatively examine the various forms intellectual property protection available for the informational assets of an organization. The course will emphasize heavily a variety of transactions in intellectual property, such as licensing and technology transfer, using a series of case studies.

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.

5397 International Corporate Compliance - BOUTHILLETTE/JUDEN (offered in Spring  2009)
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 Litigation - SHEPPARD (offered in Spring  2009)
INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION
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.

5397 International Organizations - LEWIS (offered in Spring  2010)
International organizations, organizations created by a treaty or convention and whose members are states or governments, play an increasingly important role in today’s inter-connected world. Such organizations impact upon the well-being and security of individuals, the activities of corporations, and the relationships between nations. The course will examine the law related to the nature, responsibilities and activities of these institutions.

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.

5297 International Risk Management - DIMITROFF/CASON (offered in Fall  2009)
This course will look at the legal framework for international oilfield service contracts, including both substantive law and practical counseling. The issues and solutions discussed in this course will be similar to those that arise in many other international agreements for the sale of services, which commonly form the substance of much international legal work in Houston. The course would be divided into three basic segments: 1. The first part of the course will set forth the background of international oilfield services contracts, including a review of the underlying treaties, statutes and regulations applicable to these contracts. These would include treaties and laws regulating the creation of oilfield projects, including international trade agreements, such as the WTO and NAFTA. This part will also include a series of discussions and reading assignments relating to enforcement, through litigation or arbitration, of international energy projects, including the New York Convention for Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, extraterritorial aspects of U.S. law, and conflict of laws and comparative law issues (e.g., differences between the law of the United States and England, as well as the general principals of law in common law and civil law countries). 2. The second part of the course will involve analysis of a specific hypothetical drilling agreement. We will use a format that involves the client having negotiated the basic terms of the agreement, which must then be dealt with by the attorneys for the client. The class will assist in the initial evaluation of the deal to advise the client concerning the risks that the company has undertaken. 3. The third part of the course will involve an analysis of problems that arise under the hypothetical drilling agreement, including: counseling of the client as the drilling commences and problems begin to arise; counseling the client and assisting the client them in protecting the company’s interests as the contract begins to slide towards dispute resolution; the conduct of the arbitration, with an emphasis on the strategic elements thereof. This will include multi-national mechanisms for the protection of assets. In each of the above stages, the General Counsel for the client will provide feedback to the class concerning the pragmatic, practical steps that should be taken to protect the client’s interest. The senior partners of your firm will serve as your mentor as to the substantive legal issues before you. The students will be given a project in which they will draft relevant contract provisions based on the materials taught in the first part of the course. The work will be discussed in class, citing specific “client issues and goals.” The students will participate in teams and will then be asked to redraft the provisions to provide solutions. A “model redraft” of the contract will then be given to the class. The students will be graded in two parts. First, they will be asked to analyze the “model redraft” provisions based on the legal issues and rules matters studied during the the course. This portion of the course will count for 40% of the final grade. Second, 60 percent of the grade will be based on a final exam that will be comprehensive and will cover the entire course material.

5297 Internet Law (formerly known as Network Law) - PINSKY (offered in Spring  2010)

5397 Introduction to Islamic Legal Theory & Practice - Hajihosseini (offered in Spring  2009)
Islam, Law and Culture This course aims to introduce students to the rich history of the formation, expansion, evolution and implementation of Islamic law in different parts of the world. One of the most important aspects of Islamic law is that it is not monolithic and static, that it is constantly changing and evolving. This course seeks to reflect on the history of a changing legal system which seeks to maintain authenticity and continuity while catering to the needs of its adherents. While introducing students to the interplay of law, culture, politics and religion, this course will provide a brief historical survey on the formation of the different schools of law in the classical period to the evolution of Islamic norms in modern times. In the course of studying the sources of the law and the methods of interpretation (known as figh), specific topics within criminal law, family law, contracts and torts will be closely discussed to further reflect on the legal system as a whole. This course will be taught by reading verses from the Quran (the Holy Book) which have legal injunction, articles and book chapters, and rulings and opinions from prominent jurists both in the classical and modern era concerning a variety of civil and legal matters.

5297 Jewish Law - Levin (offered in Spring  2009)
The course shall consist of an analysis of structural Jewish Law and a comparative study of Jewish Law to modern law in regard to selected controversial issues of our day such as: 1. Abortion 2. Euthanasia 3. Stem cell research and other Bioethics 4. Same sex marriages and alternative lifestyles 5. Death penalty and capital offenses 6. Women’s rights Grades will be based upon a fifteen (15) to twenty (20) minute oral class presentation on an assigned topic relating its American legal perspective, plus class participation and the final exam.

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  2007)
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.

5297 Law & Psychiatry - WINSLADE (offered in Summer I  2009)
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.

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 Practice Strategies - MCELVANEY (offered in Summer IV  2008)

5397 Law Practice Strategies - CRUMP (offered in Spring  2008)
Click here for the course outline.

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 - RILEY (offered in Spring  2007)

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 Litigation - KAPACINSKAS (offered in Fall  2009)
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 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 National Security Law - McCONNELL (offered in Spring  2010)
This course will cover presidential and congressional national security powers under the Constitution and case law with a focus on surveillance and other counterterrorism measures including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the USA Patriot Act. The course will focus on applying those principles to national security prosecutions and investigations. The grade will be based on paper written by students on a subject covered by the course.

5397 Natural Gas & Electric Industries - MAY (offered in Spring  2010)
The course will begin with a consideration of the legal and economic factors that have produced the modern natural gas and electric industries. Similarities and differences in the two industries will be analyzed. The benefits and limits of deregulation will be considered. The importance of and problems with network effects will be discussed. The course will conclude with a consideration of current issues, such as LNG importation and the development of a "smart grid" for the electric industry.

5297 Natural Resources Law - DREW (offered in Spring  2010)
Natural Resources Law This course examines the legal regimes relating to natural resources law and policy in the particular framework of federal public lands management. Particular attention will be paid to overlapping statutory schemes, doctrines involving resources that traditionally have been treated separately and are now coalescing, and a wide variety of concerns reflecting the public interest that have been infused into the legal process. In short, the course will provide an overview of the interrelationships and legal regimes created when commonlaw doctrines and more contemporary statutory schemes meet "on the ground" in areas relating to, e.g., coal, oil, water, land, wildlife. It is recommended that students have previously taken or are also currently taking either Administrative Law or Environmental Law.

5397 Nuclear Energy - BALLENTINE (offered in Spring  2010)
Students in “Nuclear Energy Law” will survey the case law and the statutory and regulatory authorities governing commercial nuclear power generation in the United States, including the Atomic Energy Act, the regulations administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and applicable state law, particularly that of the state of Texas. Students will become conversant with the history of atomic power and the pros and cons of nuclear energy as a potential solution to, or cause of, assorted environmental, economic, and security issues, and gain critical insight into this complex subject by reviewing noteworthy reports and other materials that have been published recently by various domestic and international academic and governmental institutions, industry participants, trade organizations, and public interest groups.

5397 Nuclear Energy - BALLENTINE (offered in Spring  2009)
Students in “Nuclear Energy Law” will survey the case law and the statutory and regulatory authorities governing commercial nuclear power generation in the United States, including the Atomic Energy Act, the regulations administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and applicable state law, particularly that of the state of Texas. Students will become conversant with the history of atomic power and the pros and cons of nuclear energy as a potential solution to, or cause of, assorted environmental, economic, and security issues, and gain critical insight into this complex subject by reviewing noteworthy reports and other materials that have been published recently by various domestic and international academic and governmental institutions, industry participants, trade organizations, and public interest groups.

5297 Origins of the Federal Constitution - ESKRIDGE (offered in Spring  2010)
Origins of the Federal Constitution will explore the historical sources of the Constitution. The class will consider the common law and other influences on early American government and justice (including Locke, Montesquieu, and Blackstone); the American experience prior to and immediately following Revolution; founding papers directly relevant to formation of individual constitutional provisions and early amendments; and commentary on the initial experience and understanding of the Constitution, through to Story's Commentaries. Classroom discussions will consider the historical context in relation to the Constitution's modern interpretation.

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 Practicing Consumer Law - MCMILLEN/KARNI (offered in Spring  2009)
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 Privacy & Data Protection - Bender (offered in Spring  2010)
This introductory course will cover the basic principles of privacy and data protection law, and will examine the policies underlying this still-nascent and growing form of protection. It will deal with areas where privacy law conflicts with the media, and with law enforcement, as well as with the privacy accorded government records. It will encompass privacy of financial data, and the relationship between privacy and place. It will also cover some state privacy statutes, some privacy-related activities of the Federal Trade Commission, and the structure and substance of privacy law of some jurisdictions outside the United States, including the European Union. There are no prerequisites for this course.

5297 Privacy & Data Protection - Nimmer/Bender (offered in Summer IV  2009)
This introductory course will cover the basic principles of privacy and data protection law. It will examine the policies underlying this still-nascent form of protection, and those areas of tort and Constitutional law pertinent to privacy. It will cover the substance of federal privacy statutes relating to surveillance, record-keeping, and heath information. It will also cover some state privacy statutes, the privacy-related activities of the Federal Trade Commission, and the structure and substance of privacy law in the European Union. There are no prerequisites for this course.

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.

5397 Property & Casualty Insurance - DISIERE/COOPER (offered in Spring  2010)
This class will be one of the most personally and professionally useful courses of your legal education. Property and casualty insurance is purchased, in some form or fashion, by virtually every individual and every business entity in America. In addition to your own personal insurance, almost any practice area will bring you into contact with issues arising out of property and casualty insurance. This course will analyze the fundamental concepts of property and casualty insurance through various policy forms including: General Liability, Professional Liability, Auto, Homeowners, Commercial Property, and Workers' Compensation/Employers Liability. It will also examine common law and statutory bad faith claims, insurance-industry regulation, and ethical issues that arise specifically within the insurance context.

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.

5297 Proving & Establishing Damages - COTELLESSE (offered in Fall  2009)
Producing evidence of sufficient quality to permit a jury to make a reasonable estimate of damages is one of the keys to business litigation. This course focuses on the practical aspects of establishing and proving economic damages. During the course will look at the development of damages throughout the life of a case, from the client interview through arguing damages to the jury. The objectives of this course include helping students understand the basic forms of economic damage models and the keys to producing sufficient evidence to prove them. As the course progresses, the students will have the opportunity to look at the pretrial and trial phases of a case from the point of view of proving damages. Students will interview clients, selecting damage theories; prepare damage discovery; work with expert witnesses; use non-expert discovery in support of damages; plan and take expert depositions; challenge and defend expert testimony; and conduct direct and cross-examination of expert witnesses; and argue damages. By the end of the course, students should have a good understanding of the practical challenges of establishing and proving damages in a business case.

5397 Psychology & Law - Hays/Inman/Vincent (offered in Spring  2009)
Psychology 6397: Psychology and Law - A graduate level seminar Spring Semester 2009 Wednesday 10 - 1 43 Heyne Tonya Inman, Ph.D., John P. Vincent, Ph.D. and J. Ray Hays Ph.D., J.D. This seminar is designed to expose law and psychology doctoral students to the cutting edge issues of forensic practice, to cultivate the critical thinking skills necessary for forensic practice, to develop research skills in law and psychology, and to practice the verbal and written communication skills necessary for forensic practice. A problem-based learning model will be used to explore topics of relevance to law and psychology in both civil and criminal law settings. At the end of the course students should be able to analyze a forensic task to determine the work that a lawyer or psychologist might be expected to do in the case, establish an appropriate role for both sides of a dispute, conduct research on the issue in the legal and psychological literature, and present these matters both verbally and in writing. Sample topics include: threats of harm by a patient, eyewitness testimony, competence for trial, sanity, involuntary civil commitment, torts for negligence in drug treatment, child custody evaluation, psychological autopsies, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, mental retardation in capital murder litigation, affirmative action, trauma related psychological injuries (PTSD), juvenile certification, and jury selection. THIS COURSE WILL NOT SATISFY THE LAW CENTER WRITING REQUIREMENT.

5397 Race & the Law - TURNER (offered in Fall  2009)
This course examines and provides critical perspectives on race, racism and law, and focuses on the historical treatment of major racial groups in the United States. Covered subjects will include slavery, conquest, colonization, immigration, equality under constitutional and statutory law, education, freedom of speech and expression, stereotyping, and crime (including the issue of mass incarceration of persons of color).

5397 Refugee/Forced Migration Law - Lewis, C (offered in Spring  2009)
The course considers a variety of topics related to persons who are forced to flee their homes to seek protection. Topics to be covered include asylum, refugees, the Convention against Torture, and temporary protection. The focus is on US law and policy but comparative materials from a variety of countries are also used.

5397 Regulation of Banking - HILLJ (offered in Spring  2009)
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, thrifts, and government sponsored enterprises. Because banking law is constantly evolving, emphasis will be placed on current issues in banking regulation.

5397 Regulation of Banking - HILLJ (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.

7397 SEM: ADR - HUBER (offered in Spring  2009)
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.
The purpose of a Seminar is to provide an opportunity for students to undertake an extended research project. [See Law Center Guidelines for Seminars for specifics.] Any topic that is reasonably related to Dispute Resolution is appropriate, and a student is welcome to write on a topic of her/her choice -- and I will help to develop the topic. Alternatively, I will generate ideas and topics for the student to select. The topic selection and research thereon can commence before the Spring semester. You can E-mail me at shuber@uh.edu.

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: Advanced Tort - DUNCAN (offered in Spring  2010)
This seminar provides an opportunity for further exploration of tort law, beyond that of the typical first year torts course.

7397 SEM: Biodiversity & Ecosystem Conservation - ARNOLD (offered in Spring  2010)
This seminar focuses on the legal, policy, and management regimes protecting biodiversity and ecosystems in the United States. This seminar has 3 particular characteristics. First, it focuses on a broad array of domestic U.S. laws, including the federal Endangered Species Act, federal statutes and regulations governing public lands and natural resources, the Clean Water Act, state environmental laws, local land use planning and regulation, private property interests such as conservation easements, informal multi-stakeholder planning processes, and others. (Unfortunately, time does not permit more attention to international laws, which are often covered in other courses). Second, it integrates a broad array of disciplinary perspectives and insights from biology, conservation ecology, natural resources management, political science and political theory, economics, psychology, geography, urban planning, sociology, and ethics. Third, it uses case studies to explore the complex, dynamic, and interdependent relationships among numerous, diverse principles and features of biodiversity and ecosystem conservation systems. Students will write an in-depth academic research paper on a case study of a particular conflict, problem, decision, initiative, or innovation regarding the conservation of biodiversity and/or ecosystems. Case studies allow for the exploration of rich, nuanced details, and the students’ contributions to new understandings of law and the environment, based on analysis of real-world examples. A list of suggested topics will be provided early in the semester. Students may select from the list or propose their own topics, but any selection is subject to approval by Professor Arnold.

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 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.

7297 SEM: Foreign Scholars - 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.

7397 SEM: Hot Topics in Criminal Law & 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: Hot Topics in Criminal Law & Procedure - THOMPSON (offered in Spring  2010)
Students will read the articles of leading national scholars who will visit the Law Center and present their papers. These scholars will address the following topics: the Supreme Court’s jurisprudential leanings in criminal procedure cases, how “outmoded” views about mental states result in unjust outcomes, the use of registration laws and community notification to deal with sexual predators, and the roles of morality and efficiency in an assembly-line model of criminal justice. In addition, other guest speakers from the community will visit to discuss current hot topics. The topics will include the use of drug courts to treat drug addicts, immigration crimes, and eyewitness identification testimony as a leading cause of wrongful convictions. The course will also include a field trip to a prison.

7397 SEM: Issues in Legal Education - SCHUWERK (offered in Spring  2010)

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.

7397 SEM: Law & Theology - BUCKLES (offered in Fall  2009)
This course (i) introduces students to selected topics in the study of theology that conceptually parallel specific subjects in law and legal philosophy; (ii) attempts to expand students' understanding of how theological thought can inform legal inquiry, and how legal thought can inform theological inquiry; and (iii) attempts to increase students' awareness and enhance students' comprehension of the variety of historical and contemporary approaches to resolving problems that have arisen in theological and legal thought.

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: Law, Ethics, & Brain Policy - WINSLADE (offered in Spring  2009)
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: Litigation in America - HoffmanP (offered in Fall  2009)
Litigation in America Seminar covers topics of current interest in how legal disputes are resolved under our legal system. Possible topics to be covered are the “vanishing jury trial,” racial and gender bias in jury selection, jury nullification, reliability of expert testimony, discovery costs, e-discovery, ethical constraints on litigant behavior, the hearsay rule, and improving jury comprehension.

7297 SEM: Natural Resources Law - BURKE/FLATT (offered in Spring  2009)
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, energy, and timber. This course considers the history, jurisdiction, and conflicts of the land management agencies (primarily the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Forest Service, 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, the Energy Policy Act, the General Mining Law, the Mineral Leasing 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), renewable energy development, and drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. This course will have a paper: an outline, a first draft, and a final draft of at least 35 pages and no more than 45 pages, including footnotes.

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.

7397 SEM: Regulated Industries - BUSH (offered in Fall  2009)
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.

7297 SEM: Regulation of Financial Markets in a Declining Economy - HAWKINS (offered in Fall  2009)
This course will study how legislatures can most effectively protect consumers seeking financial services in subprime markets. The topics will likely include payday lending, rent-to-own, check cashing, pawnshops, credit cards, auto title loans, refund anticipation loans, and subprime mortgages. We will also examine the role consumer protection law or the absence of consumer protection law played in creating the current economic crisis. The first half of the class will consist of reading legal scholarship on these topics, and the second half will consist of presentations by students of their original research. Students will be required to complete a 25 page paper based on a topic that they generate. This paper satisfies the Law Center’s writing requirement. In addition to the final paper, students will be evaluated on a rough draft of their paper, their presentation, and class participation.

7297 SEM: Reproductive Technologies & 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.

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.

7397 SEM: White Collar Crime - FENTIMAN (offered in Fall  2008)

7397 SEM: Written Advocacy - HOFFMANL (offered in Spring  2009)
This three-hour credit seminar, which satisfies the UHLC writing requirement, is an advanced course of study in written advocacy for litigators. It is intended for students who wish to improve their skills in persuasive writing as it is used in civil litigation practice. The class will run as follows: Each student will be assigned a specific civil litigation issue, modeled on the kinds of assignment given to law firm associates or judicial clerks. All members of the class will review and comment on initial draft memoranda that are prepared, and further revisions will then follow. The goal is to focus on the process of receiving input and improving the written work, with the ultimate ambition of generating a higher quality product at the end. Students will be evaluated primarily on a graded paper and on their in-class participation. Enrollment limited to no more than fifteen students. We will probably talk in our first classes about basic strategies for approaching a problem that calls for a written answer/analysis. Thereafter, students will then have a few weeks to work up a first draft. These first drafts will then be exchanged in advance of the next class where students and the instructor provide feedback on the initial work. The immediate goals of this exercise with the first draft are (i) dissection of good/less good approaches to answering and analyzing the problem; (ii) comparative study; and (iii) developing suggestions and a strategy plan for further refinement. Second drafts will then follow, with further feedback, along similar lines, at an even more advanced stage of development. The longer range ambition of this course is to be support the development of improved written advocacy strengths, minimize weaknesses, and to further refine excellent analytical habits. There is no casebook for the course. The instructor will distribute some reading material. There is no final examination. Grades are based on the work completed during the semester. Additionally, Class participation may be taken into account. In the past I have increased the final grade of some students by one-third of a letter grade and, in much rarer instances, by a greater amount. It is possible, though not likely, that a student’s grade can be reduced for failure to participate. Finally, a word about attendance. Regular class attendance is required by the school’s academic rules and, in any case, is essential to a coherent understanding of the course. I reserve the right to lower a final grade and/or take any other appropriate disciplinary action necessary, if it is determined that a student is absent from more than 20% of the scheduled classes.

7397 SEM: Written Advocacy - HOFFMANL (offered in Spring  2010)
This three-hour credit seminar, which satisfies the UHLC writing requirement, is an advanced course of study in written advocacy for litigators. It is intended for students who wish to improve their skills in persuasive writing as it is used in civil litigation practice. The class will run as follows: Each student will be assigned a specific civil litigation issue, modeled on the kinds of assignment given to law firm associates or judicial clerks. All members of the class will review and comment on initial draft memoranda that are prepared, and further revisions will then follow. The goal is to focus on the process of receiving input and improving the written work, with the ultimate ambition of generating a higher quality product at the end. Students will be evaluated primarily on a graded paper and on their in-class participation. Enrollment limited to no more than fifteen students. We will probably talk in our first classes about basic strategies for approaching a problem that calls for a written answer/analysis. Thereafter, students will then have a few weeks to work up a first draft. These first drafts will then be exchanged in advance of the next class where students and the instructor provide feedback on the initial work. The immediate goals of this exercise with the first draft are (i) dissection of good/less good approaches to answering and analyzing the problem; (ii) comparative study; and (iii) developing suggestions and a strategy plan for further refinement. Second drafts will then follow, with further feedback, along similar lines, at an even more advanced stage of development. The longer range ambition of this course is to be support the development of improved written advocacy strengths, minimize weaknesses, and to further refine excellent analytical habits. There is no casebook for the course. The instructor will distribute some reading material. There is no final examination. Grades are based on the work completed during the semester. Additionally, Class participation may be taken into account. In the past I have increased the final grade of some students by one-third of a letter grade and, in much rarer instances, by a greater amount. It is possible, though not likely, that a student’s grade can be reduced for failure to participate. Finally, a word about attendance. Regular class attendance is required by the school’s academic rules and, in any case, is essential to a coherent understanding of the course. I reserve the right to lower a final grade and/or take any other appropriate disciplinary action necessary, if it is determined that a student is absent from more than 20% of the scheduled classes.

5397 Special Topics in Discrimination Law - BACON (offered in Fall  2008)

5397 Special Topics in Discrimination Law - 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.

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 Statutory Interpretation & Reasoning - BRUHL (offered in Spring  2010)
Much of the law school curriculum, especially in the first year, focuses on common law rules extracted from court opinions. But, for most lawyers today, reading and interpreting statutes and administrative materials is more important. This course will provide you with an overview of the legislative and regulatory process that generates those documents. More importantly, it will teach you the theories and doctrines of statutory interpretation used in federal and state courts.

5397 Statutory Interpretation and Reasoning - ELECTIVE - BRUHL (offered in Summer IV  2009)
For most lawyers today, reading and interpreting statutes and administrative regulations, rather than common law court decisions, is among the most important parts of their job. This class will introduce you to the legislative and regulatory process and teach you the theories and doctrines of statutory interpretation used in the state and federal courts.

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 - ARBOGAST (offered in Fall  2008)

7397 Strategy of Project Finance - ARBOGAST (offered in Fall  2009)

5297 Structuring the Real Estate Transaction - KATZ (offered in Spring  2010)
This two hour course is intended to familiarize the students with the practical aspects of purchasing and selling commercial real estate. Actual form documents, including financing documents and a commercial lease, will be reviewed and analyzed. While there is no textbook, certain published articles and the forms to be reviewed will be made available to the students.

5297 Structuring the Real Estate Transaction - KATZ (offered in Spring  2009)
This two hour course is intended to familiarize the students with the practical aspects of purchasing and selling commercial real estate. Actual form documents, including financing documents and a commercial lease, will be reviewed and analyzed. While there is no textbook, certain published articles and the forms to be reviewed will be made available to the students.

7397 Tactics and Techniques of Project Finance - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring  2008)
Click here for course outline.

7397 Tactics and Techniques of Project Finance - 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 of an actual project financing from inception to execution. A senior ExxonMobil upstream finance executive will join us for one class and discuss specific PF cases in which she has been involved.

5297 Tax Controversy & Litigation - VASQUEZ/VASQUEZ/LOWY (offered in Spring  2008)
The Tax Controversy and Litigation course will cover the tax controversy process, starting with handling an IRS audit, administratively protesting before IRS Appeals, and representing a client before the United States Tax Court. Students will be instructed in taxpayer/client interview techniques and counseling, case evaluation, negotiation and settlement techniques, and trial techniques and strategies. At the Tax Court level students will learn: preparation and filing of the Tax Court Petition, Tax Court pre-trial procedures, presentation of the case and post-trial briefing.

The course will be taught in the simulation format that is used in Trial Advocacy courses.

This two-credit course brings U.S. Tax Court Judge Juan F. Vasquez to Houston to teach a course on Tax Controversy and Litigation over four Fridays and Saturdays in late January and early February 2008. His fellow teacher will be Juan F. Vasquez, Jr., Shareholder of the law firm of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin.

5297 Tax Controversy & Litigation - VASQUEZ/VASQUEZ/LOWY (offered in Spring  2009)
The Tax Controversy and Litigation course will cover the tax controversy process, starting with handling an IRS audit, administratively protesting before IRS Appeals, and representing a client before the United States Tax Court. Students will be instructed in taxpayer/client interview techniques and counseling, case evaluation, negotiation and settlement techniques, and trial techniques and strategies. At the Tax Court level students will learn: preparation and filing of the Tax Court Petition, Tax Court pre-trial procedures, presentation of the case and post-trial briefing.

The course will be taught in the simulation format that is used in Trial Advocacy courses.

This two-credit course brings U.S. Tax Court Judge Juan F. Vasquez to Houston to teach a course on Tax Controversy and Litigation over four Fridays and Saturdays in late January and early February 2008. His fellow teacher will be Juan F. Vasquez, Jr., Shareholder of the law firm of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin.

7397 Techniques & Tactics - Project Financing - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring  2009)

7397 Techniques & Tactics - Project Financing - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring  2010)

5397 The Economics of Environmental Law - COLBERT (offered in Fall  2008)
Environmental law, and by extension environmental policy, and economics continually clash. Examples of this clash include Garrett Hardin’s essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” and Dr.Suess’s “The Lorax.” In this seminar, we will discuss economic principles and their use, or lack of use, in environmental law. Format: The course is primarily discussion-based. Reading and study assignments will be made on a weekly basis driven by current (within the last 6 to 12 months) events. Grades will be based on the following: Paper – 50% Class attendance 25% Class participation 25%

5297 The Law of Human Research - PATSNER (offered in Fall  2009)

5397 The Present & Future of CO2 Trading - FLATT (offered in Spring  2009)
This class will explore the evolving markets in Carbon trading, how they work, and the legal regulatory environment that surrounds them. Particular attention will be paid to the emerging US systems, including the federal system. Students will work on cutting edge projects about how the evolving US system should be implemented. Grades will be based on project work in teams (though Business and Law students will be graded separately.

7397 The Strategy of Project Finance - ARBOGAST (offered in Fall  2007)

5397 Topics in Children & the Law - OREN (offered in Spring  2007)
Topics in Children and the Law is a new class that requires instructor¿s approval to enroll. It is a collaborative effort of students and the professor organized around a conference to be held at the Law Center in April. The conference is interdisciplinary and examines the effects of disasters like Katrina and Rita on children. Students will write a short paper on one of the children¿s legal issues that arose out of the disaster to present to the class. They also will work on other projects related to the conference, a web site, and a publication. Good writing skills and interest in children¿s issues are required. Course objectives are to develop an understanding of the scope of issues affecting children in a disaster and to think about ramifications for policy.

5397 Topics in Food & Drug Law - PATSNER (offered in Summer III  2008)
This course will focus on the core questions of how best to regulate a cluster of industries which comprise more than 25% of the United States economy. There is no prerequisite for this class. The class will review the history of FDA, basic concepts and current, cutting edge litigation on regulation of prescription drugs, medical devices, vaccines, food, cosmetics, and carcinogens. The relationship between FDA and NIH, the medical profession, the pharmaceutical industry, and CMS will be examined. Separate classes will focus on first amendment issues/advertising and promotion, FDA enforcement, as well as FDA reform. Current Federal Appellate and Supreme Court cases will be discussed in detail. Enthusiastic class participation will be encouraged, and most classes will feature a mini-debate where controversial issues will be selected and argued.

5397 Topics in Food & Drug Law - PATSNER (offered in Spring  2010)
This course will focus on the core questions of how best to regulate a cluster of industries which comprise more than 25% of the United States economy. There is no prerequisite for this class. The class will review the history of FDA, basic concepts and current, cutting edge litigation on regulation of prescription drugs, medical devices, vaccines, food, cosmetics, and carcinogens. The relationship between FDA and NIH, the medical profession, the pharmaceutical industry, and CMS will be examined. Separate classes will focus on first amendment issues/advertising and promotion, FDA enforcement, as well as FDA reform. Current Federal Appellate and Supreme Court cases will be discussed in detail. Enthusiastic class participation will be encouraged, and most classes will feature a mini-debate where controversial issues will be selected and argued.

5397 Toxic Torts - STANLEY (offered in Spring  2008)
A primer of the prevailing legal and medical issues in toxic tort litigation (primarily asbestos, silica and chemical). The course will focus on causes of action and defenses, medical and scientific causation, evidence and general case development from both Plaintiff and Defense perspectives. The course will also illustrate toxic tort litigation's historical developments and current trends (inlcuding tort reform measures). The course will feature a number of guest speakers from the legal and scientific community.

5197 Transactional Clinic II - LINZER (offered in Fall  2008)

5297 Virtual Worlds - BOLIN (offered in Spring  2010)
This course analyzes the intersection of real and virtual world property, interaction, gaming, rights, and speech. This course will cover topics from intellectual property in virtual spaces to Internet gambling and contract and speech concerns in virtual fora as well as the legal constructs that create virtual spaces. Grading will be primarily based on an original paper inspired by topics related to class reading.

5397 Water Law - DANIELS (offered in Spring  2009)
This course examines how the state and federal law addresses and prioritizes different uses of water, including both consumptive uses (e.g., irrigation and drinking water) as well as in-stream uses (e.g., recreational and scenic values, hydro electricity generation, and wildlife habitat). The course also details measures taken by state and federal governments to protect water quality. With regards to state law, special attention will be given to Texas water law. In addition to all of this, a brief introduction will be provided to international water law.

5397 Water Law - PUTT (offered in Fall  2007)
This course explores the way rights to use are allocated in the various jurisdictions of the United States. It examines acquisition and exercise of water rights, statutory procedures of acquisition, comparison of riparian rights and appropriation rights. This course also deals with the difficult issues of ground water, surface water run-off, interstate water allocation and management, matters of federal and Indian water rights, along with the effect of environmental laws on water allocation and the exercise of water rights. Major constraints and changes in Texas waster law will be integrated into the course materials and study.