| Course | Credit | Course Description | Course Area | |
Fall 2011 |
6304 Federal Indian Law |
3 |
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. |
Constitutional and Criminal Law |
Fall 2011 |
6379 Nuclear Energy |
3 |
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. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Spring 2012 |
6221 Environmental Enforcement |
2 |
This course will focus on how agencies and courts enforce environmental laws and the critical role that enforcement plays in assuring compliance and protecting the environment. We will review the principles of civil and criminal liability under environmental laws, assess ways to design effective environmental regulations, examine how federal and state agencies use these tools, and craft techniques to help clients minimize their potential liability. Our examination will center on practical strategies to manage these liabilities particularly in regard to CERCLA, RCRA and the Clean Water Act. This course will use a combination of lectures, class discussions, in-class exercises and sample problems, and case studies. We will use role-playing exercises to give students experience in real-life enforcement negotiations and prosecutions. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Spring 2012 |
5216 Clean Water Act |
2 |
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Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2012 |
5231 Anti-Corruption Law & Development |
2 |
This course will focus on U.S. federal law criminalizing various forms of “public corruption.” We will begin with a general discussion of what “public corruption” means, including recent high-profile cases as examples. We will then address specific forms of public corruption and the statutes that attempt to define them, including: bribery; illegal gratuities; extortion; mail and wire fraud, especially “honest services” fraud; conflicts of interest; election-related crimes; campaign finance and lobbying; the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; and false statements and obstruction of justice. Each class we will address one specific form of public corruption. And each class, one student will give a five minute presentation explaining a cutting-edge legal issue relevant to the public corruption topic or statute addressed that day. The course will end with a discussion of various trial and sentencing issues that arise in public corruption cases, and finally, with presentations by guest speakers (likely a federal judge, a federal prosecutor, and a defense attorney). Exam: 90% of Grade Paper/Presentation: 10% of Grade (paper 1-2 pages single spaced; presentation 5 minutes) |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2012 |
5207 Clean Air Act |
2 |
The primary goal of this course will be to understand the principles of air quality law as set out in the Federal Clean Air Act and it’s implementing regulations. In addition to Federal statutory and administrative law, the course will focus on State and Local air quality requirements and the implementation of Federal air quality law through these State and Local requirements. Common law claims related to air pollution will also be discussed. Because EPA is in the process of developing additional climate change requirements through the Clean Air Act, the integration of climate change requirements under the Clean Air Act will also be a significant focus of this course. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Spring 2013 |
7336 Techniques for Project Finance |
3 |
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. The essential theme of the course is that PF borrowers should endeavor to control their project financing from the outset. This can best be done by making a realistic appraisal of a project’s potential to support financing, the definition of clear financing objectives and an assessment of challenges standing in the way of realizing those objectives. Based upon this assessment, borrowers should prepare their own preliminary financing plan. This work should be undertaken before the borrower’s organization commits to do PF, before talking about PF with partners and before hiring a financial adviser. Only by undertaking this upfront assessment will borrowers know the issues to discuss with other stakeholders. Being equipped to shape these conversations will, in turn, enable borrowers to seek only that external advice needed and to control key aspects of the PF process through to execution. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2013 |
6362 Natural Resources Law |
3 |
Natural Resources Law is the body of legal rules and processes that govern the human use, management, and protection of nature. In this course, we will survey the history of resource acquisition and management as well as current mechanisms for the management, use, and preservation of natural resources, including wildlife, wilderness, rivers, national parks, and energy. Among other issues, we will consider the history, jurisdiction, and authority of land management agencies and various statutes such as the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Federal Land Policy Management Act, to name a few. Throughout our study of these doctrinal issues, we will also consider competing ideas about how and why natural resources should be valued, used, and conserved. The objectives of this course are to teach the substantive law of the subject matter in a comprehensive manner, to consider ethical and professional questions related to the subject matter, and to integrate the subject matter with the analytical and practical skills necessary to the practice of law. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2013 |
6359 Regulated Industries |
3 |
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. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2013 |
5371 International Petroleum Transactions (formerly known as Int'l Energy Trans.) |
3 |
International Petroleum Transactions provides an overview of the laws, contracts, and legal issues that arise between host governments and oil companies that seek to invest in and develop oil and gas owned by the host governments. The course includes: an overview of National Oil Companies (the largest reserve owners today), ascertaining title to the minerals, especially in federalist countries or countries with indigenous tribes; resolving boundary disputes between nations; a comparison of the most commonly used granting contracts (licenses, production-sharing contracts and service contracts); issues arising under the international Joint Operating Agreement; sustainable development in resource development, including social impact assessment, human rights issues and litigation, and liability for transboundary pollution and oil spills; anti-corruption laws and codes; international arbitration; and other issues as time permits. The course also provides a good background to the future of the western majors in the global context of international energy. The class will have several guest lecturers who are leading practitioners in specialized areas of international petroleum transactions, such as arbitration and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2013 |
5221 International Commercial Arbitration |
2 |
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 140 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. |
International Law |
Fall 2013 |
6352 Energy Law: Emerging Markets |
3 |
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. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2013 |
5390 Environmental Law |
3 |
Environmental law plays a pivotal role in protecting our personal health and welfare, guiding economic development and business life, and shielding our most precious natural treasures and resources from misuse or harm. Because it protects such broad and often conflicting purposes, environmental law has evolved from its common law roots into a complex set of federal and state statutory protections, administrative regulatory prohibitions, and often convoluted judicial interpretations. This course will introduce you to the broad field of environmental law and give you a practical sense of the key skills and tools you would need to start handling environmental projects. This course will use a combination of lectures, class discussions, in-class exercises and sample problems, and case studies. We will use role-playing exercises to give you experience in real-life negotiations and enforcement situations. I also hope to bring in guest lecturers prominent in environmental law, and we hopefully can schedule a class visit to sites with particular environmental interest (e.g., a refinery or chemical plant, a Superfund site, or a wetlands restoration area). |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2013 |
7372 Upstream Economics |
3 |
Objectives • Understanding of the physical systems affecting the exploitation of hydrocarbon accumulations • Understanding the economic structure and issues associated with key upstream processes. • Ability to construct and use financial models and performance measures for the upstream business • Appreciation of the key management decisions and the considerations that go into them in the highly uncertain exploration and production businesses Requirements 1. Participation on a student team in a competitive simulated oil and gas exploration and production venture, concluding with an assessment of the team’s results and lessons learned 2. Preparation and use of a financial model using Excel 3. Two team presentations relating to case studies used in the course 4. Two brief recommendation papers relating to case studies used in the course 5. A final examination problem |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2013 |
7334 Strategy for Project Finance |
3 |
This course is quite stringent, but not quite as difficult as “Case Studies in International Finance” course. This course concentrates on the basics of project financing and the reasons why energy companies use it. Cases include Upstream, refining, chemicals, power and pipelines. Course Syllabus: For more information on this course and the professor, please visit http://www.bauer.uh.edu/arbogast/. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
Fall 2013 |
7360 Case Studies in International Finance |
3 |
This is pure finance—lots of number crunching and business modeling and foreign exchange hedging, etc. The most difficult course. |
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law |