5397 Admiralty Environmental and Insurance Claims - ENGERRAND (offered in Spring 2019)
The Deepwater Horizon blowout resulted in more than 500,000 claims and payments of more than $60 billion, and the waters of the United States see collisions, allisions, injuries, spills, and discharges every day. Admiralty Environmental and Insurance Issues teaches the civil and criminal remedies available for the environmental claims resulting from these incidents as well as the insurance issues applicable when there is a marine accident.
5297 Admiralty Environmental and Insurance Claims - ENGERRAND (offered in Summer I 2019)
The Deepwater Horizon blowout resulted in more than 500,000 claims and payments of more than $60 billion, and the waters of the United States see collisions, allisions, injuries, spills, and discharges every day. Admiralty Environmental and Insurance Issues teaches the civil and criminal remedies available for the environmental claims resulting from these incidents as well as the insurance issues applicable when there is a marine accident.
5297 Admiralty Environmental and Insurance Claims - ENGERRAND (offered in Spring 2020)
The Deepwater Horizon blowout resulted in more than 500,000 claims and payments of more than $60 billion, and the waters of the United States see collisions, allisions, injuries, spills, and discharges every day. Admiralty Environmental and Insurance Issues teaches the civil and criminal remedies available for the environmental claims resulting from these incidents as well as the insurance issues applicable when there is a marine accident.
5297 Admiralty Environmental and Insurance Claims - ENGERRAND (offered in Summer I 2020)
If UH mandates during this term that alternate delivery of courses is required, as occurred during Spring of 2020, please note that this course may be delivered via distance education and/or primarily electronic interaction.
The Deepwater Horizon blowout resulted in more than 500,000 claims and payments of more than $60 billion, and the waters of the United States see collisions, allisions, injuries, spills, and discharges every day. Admiralty Environmental and Insurance Issues teaches the civil and criminal remedies available for the environmental claims resulting from these incidents as well as the insurance issues applicable when there is a marine accident.
5397 Admiralty, Maritime Commerce - WINTON (offered in Fall 2020)
This course will cover the general maritime law of commerce, including: maritime jurisdiction (in rem, quasi in rem and in personam) and the interplay between state and federal jurisdiction under the Savings to Suitors Clause, maritime procedure and substantive maritime law including contracts, torts (other than personal injury & wrongful death), collisions, cargo, limitation of liability, insurance, maritime liens, tugs, towage, pilotage and salvage. Whether or not one ever anticipates practicing maritime law to any great extent, the intent is that the student will come away with a much better understanding of federal jurisdiction and its impact on litigation practice generally.
5397 Admiralty, Maritime Commerce - WINTON (offered in Fall 2019)
This course will cover the general maritime law of commerce, including: maritime jurisdiction (in rem, quasi in rem and in personam) and the interplay between state and federal jurisdiction under the Savings to Suitors Clause, maritime procedure and substantive maritime law including contracts, torts (other than personal injury & wrongful death), collisions, cargo, limitation of liability, insurance, maritime liens, tugs, towage, pilotage and salvage. Whether or not one ever anticipates practicing maritime law to any great extent, the intent is that the student will come away with a much better understanding of federal jurisdiction and its impact on litigation practice generally.
5397 ADR Survey - BREGANT (offered in Fall 2021)
The vast majority of day-to-day disputes are resolved (formally and informally) without litigation. This survey course focuses on introducing students to some of the most common processes involved in so-called “alternative” dispute resolution, including negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. In addition to the legal foundations of these processes, the course emphasizes psychological insights and practical strategies for lawyers.
A core component of this course is simulation exercises, in which students get the chance to try out techniques and strategies for themselves. To ensure that all students get the most out of these exercises, a large part of the course grade is based on students’ preparation for and participation in every class session. Missing class without prior notice, or missing several classes even with prior notice, will make it difficult to successfully complete the course. The remainder of the course grade will be based on short written assignments and a final exam.
5297 Advanced Drafting for Corporate Transactions - GINSBURG (offered in Spring 2019)
The purpose of this course is to prepare students for their first year of general corporate practice, whether in an in-house, law firm, or solo practice setting, by completing a simulated financing transaction. The course will focus on how secured transactions law, bankruptcy law and corporate law influence the structuring and documenting of a typical secured bank loan. Students will work through a hypothetical transaction that be the focal point of the entire semester. The class will begin by discussing alternative capital structures and how bank loans are used to finance acquisitions, growth and working capital needs. We will then analyze and draft credit and security documents, and learn how specific contract provisions are important to both borrowers and lenders. We will analyze all stages of finance transactions, and discuss the often divergent strategies and goals of lenders and borrowers. The fundamentals of negotiating critical provisions of a leveraged finance transaction will be stressed, with emphasis on private equity investors and their finance sources. The professor will relate many of his experiences in global finance transactions and share provisions from actual loan documentation to demonstrate how those fundamentals are applied in actual transactions. Although the course will be of particular interest to those pursuing a corporate or commercial law career, the concepts are applicable to any transactional practice.
5197 Advocacy Board ONE - LAWRENCE (offered in Fall 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for participation in the governance and operation of Blakely student advocacy organizations.
5197 Advocacy Board ONE - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer II 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for participation in the governance and operation of Blakely student advocacy organizations
5197 Advocacy Board ONE - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer IV 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for participation in the governance and operation of Blakely student advocacy organizations
5197 Advocacy Board TWO - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer IV 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for participation in the governance and operation of Blakely student advocacy organizations
5197 Advocacy Board TWO - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer II 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for participation in the governance and operation of Blakely student advocacy organizations
5197 Advocacy Board TWO - LAWRENCE (offered in Fall 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for participation in the governance and operation of Blakely student advocacy organizations.
5197 Advocacy Competition FOUR - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer IV 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition FOUR - LAWRENCE (offered in Fall 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition FOUR - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer II 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition ONE - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer IV 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition ONE - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer II 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition ONE - LAWRENCE (offered in Fall 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition THREE - LAWRENCE (offered in Fall 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition THREE - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer II 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition THREE - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer IV 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition TWO - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer IV 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition TWO - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer II 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5197 Advocacy Competition TWO - LAWRENCE (offered in Fall 2021)
The course enables students to lodge credit for Blakely administered competitions.
5397 Asylum Law - MORALES (offered in Spring 2021)
This course will cover United States asylum and refugee law, as well as protection under the Convention Against Torture and withholding of removal.
5397 Climate Intervention Law & Policy - HESTER (offered in Fall 2019)
: As efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions continue to fall short of international goals and concerns mount over worsening climate change damages, attention has begun to focus on an emerging set of technologies that seek to directly manipulate the global atmosphere or alter regional ecosystems to offset or prevent climate change itself. These efforts generally involve either carbon dioxide removal from the ambient atmosphere on a massive scale, or solar radiation management to reduce the amount of energy reaching the Earth’s surface. These climate intervention technologies raise novel and fundamental challenges for both international law and domestic regulatory policy. This class will be the first law course in the United States focusing on this new field of law.
5297 Commercial Finance Transactions - RANSOM/NICHOLS (offered in Spring 2020)
This course will immerse students in practical business and legal concepts inherent in commercial financing transactions and demonstrate how those issues manifest themselves in the financing documents drafted by lawyers. Students will learn the provisions of financing documents, and, importantly, learn the legal and business issues behind the provisions. The tools and concepts taught in class lectures will be implemented by students in practice through negotiation and drafting of a commercial loan utilizing real world current forms of a syndicated credit agreement and term sheet. This course will provide the basic foundational legal and business concepts related to commercial loan agreements that practicing attorneys wish all first year attorneys were already familiar with.
5397 Construction Law - ADERHOLT (offered in Fall 2020)
An overview of the construction process and the body of law that has developed over the years with respect to the relationships of the parties involved in the construction process.
5297 Construction Law - LAPAR (offered in Fall 2021)
The course will provide students with an overview of the general principals of construction law and the issues construction law practitioners navigate in the representation of their construction industry clients. You will learn about issues relating to private and public construction projects such as mechanic’s liens and bond claims, the role of the various parties involved in the construction process (ie, owner/ developer, general contractor, subcontractor, supplier), risk-allocation clauses employed in construction contracts, issues arising during contract performance, and dispute resolution forums.
5397 Consumer Law Clinic II - MARQUEZ, Ryan (offered in Fall 2020)
This course is a practical course involving representing actual clients with their legal issues. You will be working on cases mainly filed in Justice, County, and District courts or in the pre-litigation phase of a claim. Cases will relate directly to consumer law, including landlord and tenant law, real estate issues, deceptive trade practices, debt collection, bankruptcy, negotiation strategies, and lease drafting. After completing this course, students will have the necessary legal and practical knowledge to represent consumers effectively upon starting to practice law.
Regular participation in the clinic is required! You must work 50 hours per course credit hour. There is a weekly staff meeting class that lasts approximately 1 ˝ hours.
5397 Consumer Law Clinic II - MARQUEZ (offered in Spring 2021)
This course is a practical course involving representing actual clients with their legal issues. You will be working on cases mainly filed in Justice, County, and District courts or in the pre-litigation phase of a claim. Cases will relate directly to consumer law, including landlord and tenant law, real estate issues, deceptive trade practices, debt collection, bankruptcy, negotiation strategies, and lease drafting. After completing this course, students will have the necessary legal and practical knowledge to represent consumers effectively upon starting to practice law.
Regular participation in the clinic is required! You must work 50 hours per course credit hour. There is a weekly staff meeting class that lasts approximately 1 ˝ hours.
5397 Consumer Law Clinic II - MARQUEZ, Ryan (offered in Fall 2021)
This course is a practical course involving representing actual clients with their legal issues. You will be working on cases mainly filed in Justice, County, and District courts or in the pre-litigation phase of a claim. Cases will relate directly to consumer law, including landlord and tenant law, real estate issues, deceptive trade practices, debt collection, bankruptcy, negotiation strategies, and lease drafting. After completing this course, students will have the necessary legal and practical knowledge to represent consumers effectively upon starting to practice law.
Regular participation in the clinic is required! You must work 50 hours per course credit hour. There is a weekly staff meeting class that lasts approximately 1 ˝ hours.
5397 Consumer Law Clinic II - MARQUEZ (offered in Spring 2020)
This course is a practical course involving representing actual clients with their legal issues. You will be working on cases mainly filed in Justice, County, and District courts or in the pre-litigation phase of a claim. Cases will relate directly to consumer law, including landlord and tenant law, real estate issues, deceptive trade practices, debt collection, bankruptcy, negotiation strategies, and lease drafting. After completing this course, students will have the necessary legal and practical knowledge to represent consumers effectively upon starting to practice law.
Regular participation in the clinic is required! You must work 50 hours per course credit hour. There is a weekly staff meeting class that lasts approximately 1 ˝ hours.
5397 Contract Drafting - TOEDT (offered in Fall 2020)
This simulation course's goal is to help a new lawyer impress his- or her first supervising attorneys with how knowledgeable the new lawyer is about the ways that businesses use contracts to work together.
We will draft a series of contracts for a small tech company, "MathWhiz," including for its dealings with a giant corporate customer, "Gigunda Energy." Along the way, we will study the following, among other things."
• key legal doctrines that could cause big future problems for clients if not dealt with properly
• business planning, a.k.a. R.O.O.F.: Rooting Out Opportunities for [Failure]
• watching out for SPP, i.e., S[tuff] People Pull
• creating contractual incentives for good behavior to help head off disputes
• specific techniques for drafting contracts that can be quickly reviewed and negotiated
• spotting and eliminating ambiguities, which can be a leading cause of contract-related disputes
• how not to get taken advantage of in contract negotiations
• avoiding jail time for both clients and lawyers
• earning a reputation as a deal-maker, not a deal-breaker
• positioning the client for future litigation without spooking the other side
While this course no longer satisfies the upper-division writing course requirement, students will still get considerable practice in drafting workable, readable contract language.
Class sessions spend a lot of time brainstorming and war-gaming typical real-world business situations.
Socratic method is used extensively, but in a modified form: Most questions are posted in advance; when a question is posed in class, students are asked to turn to their neighbors and discuss, then the question is discussed by the whole class.
5397 Contract Drafting - TOEDT (offered in Fall 2020)
This simulation course's goal is to help a new lawyer impress his- or her first supervising attorneys with how knowledgeable the new lawyer is about the ways that businesses use contracts to work together.
We will draft a series of contracts for a small tech company, "MathWhiz," including for its dealings with a giant corporate customer, "Gigunda Energy." Along the way, we will study the following, among other things."
• key legal doctrines that could cause big future problems for clients if not dealt with properly
• business planning, a.k.a. R.O.O.F.: Rooting Out Opportunities for [Failure]
• watching out for SPP, i.e., S[tuff] People Pull
• creating contractual incentives for good behavior to help head off disputes
• specific techniques for drafting contracts that can be quickly reviewed and negotiated
• spotting and eliminating ambiguities, which can be a leading cause of contract-related disputes
• how not to get taken advantage of in contract negotiations
• avoiding jail time for both clients and lawyers
• earning a reputation as a deal-maker, not a deal-breaker
• positioning the client for future litigation without spooking the other side
While this course no longer satisfies the upper-division writing course requirement, students will still get considerable practice in drafting workable, readable contract language.
Class sessions spend a lot of time brainstorming and war-gaming typical real-world business situations.
Socratic method is used extensively, but in a modified form: Most questions are posted in advance; when a question is posed in class, students are asked to turn to their neighbors and discuss, then the question is discussed by the whole class.
5297 Crime in The Information Age - RAMIREZ (offered in Spring 2020)
This course examines the intersection of two fields, criminal law and the law of information and intellectual property. This new area of the law has evolved to protect information products from unauthorized use that is facilitated by the internet and digitization.
5297 Crime in The Information Age - RAMIREZ (offered in Spring 2019)
This course examines the intersection of two fields, criminal law and the law of information and intellectual property. This new area of the law has evolved to protect information products from unauthorized use that is facilitated by the internet and digitization.
5397 Criminal Evidence - THOMPSON/BENNETT/OLVERA (offered in Spring 2019)
This experiential course provides students with an opportunity to hone their oral and written advocacy skills in the context of actual criminal felony cases. The course weaves together doctrinal instruction with exercises in pretrial and trial practice. The course covers critical legal issues that arise from the point of arrest through trial, with advocacy assignments along the way. Examples include arrest warrants, grand jury proceedings, discovery practice, suppression motions based on Fourth Amendment searches, eyewitness identification reliability, and the validity of conclusions drawn by a forensic science expert, among others. Students will be provided with three case files—a murder case, a sexual assault case, and an aggravated robbery case—on which assignments are based. The course is co-taught by experienced practitioners, one prosecutor and one public defender, along with a full-time doctrinal professor. Students will play the roles of prosecutors for half of the assignments and of defense attorneys for the other half. The course also addresses legal ethics issues in criminal practice. This course is intended for students who have some interest in practicing criminal law after graduation.
5397 Criminal Litigation and Legal Issues in Criminal Procedure - MURPHY/PARRAS/LOWERY (offered in Spring 2019)
Criminal Litigation and Legal Issues in Criminal Procedure is designed to incorporate the substantive law of criminal procedure into a trial advocacy course. The course will cover virtually all of the stages of a criminal case—from the probable cause hearing through the sentencing hearing and hearing on a motion for a new trial. Most of the issues addressed in this course implicate federal constitutional law principles applicable to all criminal prosecutions, whether they occur in state or federal court.
Each class will include a brief lecture about the relevant substantive law applicable to the particular stage at issue. The remainder of each class will be oral advocacy exercises involving factual hypotheticals implicating the relevant substantive law principles. The exercises will require each student to play the role of either defense counsel or prosecutor. The hypotheticals will involve fully developed factual scenarios. No additional factual development will be required.
Most of the oral advocacy exercises will involve legal arguments to a trial court (a role played by the instructor). On two occasions—voir dire and closing arguments—students will advocate to a jury (played by fellow students). The two types of legal advocacy—one to a judge, the other to a lay jury—involve different approaches, which will be addressed during the course.
In this course, students will be assigned their factual hypotheticals and role-playing assignments one week in advance of each class. In addition to the hypotheticals, students should read the assigned materials for each class and prepare oral presentations. No additional legal research is necessary. In fact, to assure that both sides’ arguments are premised on a discrete body of law, students should not engage in additional research.
Every student will make a short oral presentation each week with the exception of the first class. Depending on the number of students in the course, each student’s presentation will be approximately five to ten minutes in length. The instructor— and occasionally fellow students—will play the role of trial judge during exercises. The instructor and fellow students will critique each student after his or her presentation. As this course progresses, and students get more practice, it is hoped that each student’s comfort level and proficiency in legal speech and debate skills will improve.
In 14 weeks, the class will cover preliminary hearings, bail hearings, pretrial motions, voir dire, legal objections during trial, motions for judgment of acquittal, jury instructions, closing arguments, sentencing hearings, and various post convictions challenges.
5397 Criminal Litigation and Legal Issues in Criminal Procedure - MURPHY/LOWERY/PARRAS (offered in Fall 2019)
Criminal Litigation Practice is designed to incorporate the substantive law of criminal procedure into a trial advocacy course. The course will cover virtually all of the stages of a criminal case—from the probable cause hearing through the sentencing hearing and hearing on a motion for a new trial. Most of the issues addressed in this course implicate federal constitutional law principles applicable to all criminal prosecutions, whether they occur in state or federal court.
5397 Criminal Litigation and Legal Issues in Criminal Procedure - LOWERY/PARRAS (offered in Fall 2020)
Criminal Litigation Practice is designed to incorporate the substantive law of criminal procedure into a trial advocacy course. The course will cover virtually all of the stages of a criminal case—from the probable cause hearing through the sentencing hearing and hearing on a motion for a new trial. Most of the issues addressed in this course implicate federal constitutional law principles applicable to all criminal prosecutions, whether they occur in state or federal court.
5397 Criminal Litigation and Legal Issues in Criminal Procedure - MURPHY/LOWERY (offered in Fall 2021)
Criminal Litigation Practice is designed to incorporate the substantive law of criminal procedure into a trial advocacy course. The course will cover virtually all of the stages of a criminal case—from the probable cause hearing through the sentencing hearing and hearing on a motion for a new trial. Most of the issues addressed in this course implicate federal constitutional law principles applicable to all criminal prosecutions, whether they occur in state or federal court.
5397 Criminal Procedure - BRALEY/MARTINEZ (offered in Fall 2020)
This constitutional law course involves the police investigation of criminal activities. Topics include the rules governing search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment, confessions under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, the role of the due process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments with respect to the foregoing, and the remedy of exclusion for constitutional violations.
5397 Criminal Procedure - KWOK (offered in Spring 2021)
This constitutional law course involves the police investigation of criminal activities. Topics include the rules governing search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment, confessions under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, the role of the due process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments with respect to the foregoing, and the remedy of exclusion for constitutional violations.
5397 Criminal Procedure - BRALEY (offered in Spring 2021)
This constitutional law course involves the police investigation of criminal activities. Topics include the rules governing search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment, confessions under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, the role of the due process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments with respect to the foregoing, and the remedy of exclusion for constitutional violations.
5297 Criminal Trial Process - BRALEY (offered in Summer I 2020)
If UH mandates during this term that alternate delivery of courses is required, as occurred during Spring of 2020, please note that this course will either be: (1) delivered via distance education and/or primarily electronic interaction; or (2) cancelled due to the adjunct instructor’s constraints as to teaching in that mode.
This course focuses on the constitutional and procedural rules applicable to criminal prosecutions, post-investigation. The course will cover arrest, right to counsel, bail and pre-trial detention, charging decisions, grand jury, discovery, trials, plea bargaining, pleas, sentencing, and appellate issues. The course will also cover Department of Justice policies applicable to the charging, pleading, and sentencing phases, among others. Guest speakers will add practical context to concepts presented during the course. The course is designed to provide students with an understanding of criminal procedure and perspective on how the rules work in practice.
5297 Crimmigration - HOFFMANG (offered in Spring 2019)
This course will introduce students to the many issues at the intersection of immigration law and criminal law. Crimmigration is a complex and dynamic area of law. The course will provide students with the knowledge required to recognize and analyze the potential immigration consequences of a variety of criminal pleas and convictions.
5297 Data Protection in Corporate Practice - BLACK (offered in Fall 2019)
Data Protection in Corporate Practice is a simulation course for students interested in corporate, nonprofit, intellectual property, or cyber law practice. The course is designed integrate doctrine, theory, skills, and ethics in the following areas (i) state, federal, and international regulation of data protection; (ii) privacy; and (iii) legal risk management in the corporate setting. Students will engage in a series of exercises for hypothetical clients before, during, and after cyber breach events.
5297 Education Law: K-12 - DAVIS/BRUSH (offered in SummerMini 2019)
This course surveys the law affecting K-12 public school districts, including Public Information and Records Management, Open Meetings Act, Special Education/504, Competitive Purchasing, State and Federal Liability and Immunities, First Amendment Issues, Fourteenth Amendment Issues, Teacher Contracts, and Student Discipline/Harassment/Bullying.
5297 Education Law: K-12 - DAVIS/BRUSH (offered in SummerMini 2021)
This course surveys the law affecting K-12 public school districts, including Public Information and Records Management, Open Meetings Act, Special Education/504, Competitive Purchasing, State and Federal Liability and Immunities, First Amendment Issues, Fourteenth Amendment Issues, Teacher Contracts, and Student Discipline/Harassment/Bullying.
5297 Education Rights Clinic - BEELER (offered in Spring 2020)
Houston Independent School District is the 7th largest school district in the United States, serving over 214,000 students. Combined, Houston-area schools serve nearly 1,000,000 students. The-school-to-prison pipeline is a phenomenon by which students are pushed out of schools and into the juvenile or criminal justice systems. The Education Rights Clinic aims to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline in the Houston area by
1) providing community outreach in the form of know-your-rights presentations to young people and their families, and
2) providing direct representation to middle and high school students in school disciplinary proceedings.
Through direct representation, law students will have the opportunity to interview clients, investigate facts, create a case plan, conduct legal research, and represent clients directly in school disciplinary proceedings. Depending on the case, this may include a trial-like administrative proceeding in front of a school board with timed opening statements, responses to opposing counsel, and closing statements.
5297 Education Rights Clinic - ROISMAN (offered in Fall 2021)
Houston Independent School District is the 7th largest school district in the United States, serving over 214,000 students. Combined, Houston-area schools serve nearly 1,000,000 students. The-school-to-prison pipeline is a phenomenon by which students are pushed out of schools and into the juvenile or criminal justice systems. The Education Rights Clinic aims to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline in the Houston area by
1) providing community outreach in the form of know-your-rights presentations to young people and their families, and
2) providing direct representation to middle and high school students in school disciplinary proceedings.
Through direct representation, law students will have the opportunity to interview clients, investigate facts, create a case plan, conduct legal research, and represent clients directly in school disciplinary proceedings. Depending on the case, this may include a trial-like administrative proceeding in front of a school board with timed opening statements, responses to opposing counsel, and closing statements.
5297 Employee Benefits Plans & Compensation - BODRON/BENSKIN/WINSTON (offered in Spring 2020)
The laws governing employee benefits and executive compensation are ever-changing and of interest to employers, employees and law makers. Practitioners in this area can be found at big law firms, family law firms, insurance companies, banks, in-house counsel, unions and government. This 2-hour course provides a basic overview of the specialized employee benefit plans (such as 401(k) plans, pension plans and health and welfare benefit plans) governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), and the applicable provisions under the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”). This course also will review the taxation under the Code of executive compensation arrangements, such as non-qualified deferred compensation plans, stock options and other equity plans. Students will gain a historical perspective of ERISA’s origins to learn how the need for federal action came about and lean about more recent legislative actions in this area, such as Obamacare, along with pertinent case law. The course will focus on the ERISA and tax aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation plans and arrangement from both the employer and employee perspectives. The goal of the course is to convey a practical understanding of how ERISA and the Code impact employee benefits that are provided by employers to employees!
5297 Employee Benefits Plans & Compensation - BODRON/BENSKIN/WINSTON (offered in Spring 2021)
The laws governing employee benefits and executive compensation are ever-changing and of interest to employers, employees and law makers. Practitioners in this area can be found at big law firms, family law firms, insurance companies, banks, in-house counsel, unions and government. This 2-hour course provides a basic overview of the specialized employee benefit plans (such as 401(k) plans, pension plans and health and welfare benefit plans) governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), and the applicable provisions under the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”). This course also will review the taxation under the Code of executive compensation arrangements, such as non-qualified deferred compensation plans, stock options and other equity plans. Students will gain a historical perspective of ERISA’s origins to learn how the need for federal action came about and lean about more recent legislative actions in this area, such as Obamacare, along with pertinent case law. The course will focus on the ERISA and tax aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation plans and arrangement from both the employer and employee perspectives. The goal of the course is to convey a practical understanding of how ERISA and the Code impact employee benefits that are provided by employers to employees!
5197 Employment Discrimination Lab - HEPPARD (offered in Spring 2020)
Employment Discrimination Law - This one credit hour practical course will provide students who are co-registered in 5362-17730- Employment Discrimination Law Course (taught by Professor Ron Turner) a real-life legal experience working with attorneys at the Houston Office of the EEOC to provide members of the community who have experienced employment discrimination with legal assistance. This course allows students to reinforce the employment discrimination laws they are learning in the associated Employment Discrimination Course. Students will be required to work at the EEOC a minimum of 50 hours over the course of the semester at times arranged with their EEOC supervisor.
5397 Entertainment Law - ALONSO/BARKS (offered in Spring 2019)
The course will focus on the constitutional, statutory, and common law framework of entertainment law and its practical implications for practitioners. With the Constitution as our base camp, we will explore the fusion of laws that govern the world of entertainment, including copyrights, trademarks, contracts, and tort law. We will then analyze their impact on the business and legal affairs of recording artists, record companies, publishers, radio and TV broadcasting, and the motion picture industry. The goal will be not only to provide you with a comprehensive insight into this unique field but also prepare you to advise clients with entertainment law related issues, whether they will be in transactions or litigation.
Your Grade: Your course grade will be determined by a closed-book final exam with short answer questions, longer answer questions, true/false questions which ask you to explain your answer, and multiple choice questions. The exam will count for 90% of your grade. The other 10% of your grade will be based on class participation, so come prepared to take part in class with the skill and eloquence of Vincent Gambini. While I will enforce attendance to the extent required by the school, your failure to attend and participate will be your loss. Since the course will not require a paper or homework assignments, the reading assignments will be non-wimpy. The class Web Board, which includes past exams and student answers, will give you an idea of what the course will cover.
5197 Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Research - BADEAUX (offered in Fall 2019)
This is a practical class, focused on finding the law and legal authorities relevant to taking and defending actions concerning the environment, energy, and natural resources. There are weekly assignments, a midterm research project and a final research project.
5397 Environmental Governance and the Private Sector - FLATT (offered in Spring 2021)
“This class examines the push for more private sector accountability and governance in environmental matters (such as ESG (“Environment, Social and Governance”) and CSR (“Corporate Social Responsibility”) policies) and how this relates to legal requirements in the private sector, particularly laws governing financial and risk disclosure.
The class also looks at private sector environmental governance. In particular, the class will examine the concept of business sustainability drivers and practice, private environmental governance, including the growth of market models, and what legal standards apply.
Students will examine 1) the economic and theoretical bases for environmental laws; 2) emerging corporate and private sector behavior in response to these laws, financial disclosure laws, and public opinion; and 3) private environmental governance.”
5397 Environmental Markets - FLATT (offered in Spring 2019)
This class will explore the evolving markets in environmental amenities, particularly using carbon trading as an example, and how this relates to skills in practice.
5397 Family Law Practice and Drafting - WILHITE (offered in Spring 2020)
This course will cover national family law with an emphasis on the law of Texas. Classroom instruction will integrate legal foundations of family law with an emphasis on establishing academic and practical skills. Students will learn to draft essential pleadings, judgments and agreements pertaining to family law, and will also prepare and argue defined legal positions on various family law topics, relating both to marital property and children’s issues. The class will be reasonably similar to the experience of a lawyer advising or representing a client and engaging in other lawyering tasks within a set of facts and circumstances devised by the professor, who will directly supervise all aspects of the classroom experience. Grading will include an assessment of the drafting, in-class legal arguments, contribution to class discussion and a final paper.
5397 FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) - Distance Education - KOEHLER (offered in Fall 2020)
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is a top legal and compliance concern for business organizations – both public and private and across a variety of industry sectors – doing business in the global marketplace.
This online course is an in-depth study of the FCPA, FCPA enforcement, FCPA compliance, and related legal and policy issues. You will learn of the FCPA’s modern era and in doing so will dissect legal authority such as the FCPA statutory text, legislative history and judicial decisions as well as non-legal sources of information such as resolved FCPA enforcement actions and enforcement agency guidance.
5297 FDA Law - ARMSTRONG (offered in Spring 2020)
Pharmaceutical products and medical devices account for a significant portion of healthcare services, so a basic understanding of FDA/Pharmacy law is essential for any student wishing to work in, or to represent clients in the healthcare sector. This course provides a manageable introductory survey of the major substantive topics in FDA Law, particularly relating to drugs, biologics, biosimilars, and medical devices and the interaction of state pharmacy laws relating to dispensing and distribution of those products. After providing a basic tour of FDA law and applicable state pharmacy laws, the course will turn to discussion of hot topics in FDA/Pharmacy laws, which students will select in consultation with Professor Armstrong.
5297 FDA Law - ARMSTRONG (offered in Fall 2021)
Pharmaceutical products and medical devices account for a significant portion of healthcare services, so a basic understanding of FDA/Pharmacy law is essential for any student wishing to work in, or to represent clients in the healthcare sector. This course provides a manageable introductory survey of the major substantive topics in FDA Law, particularly relating to drugs, biologics, biosimilars, and medical devices and the interaction of state pharmacy laws relating to dispensing and distribution of those products. After providing a basic tour of FDA law and applicable state pharmacy laws, the course will turn to discussion of hot topics in FDA/Pharmacy laws, which students will select in consultation with Professor Armstrong.
5297 Financial Products Taxation - GUPTA (offered in Spring 2020)
The course will cover an understanding of how financial products are sought to be used (or abused) to “optimize” the tax characteristics of income—by recasting, for example, returns on equity as those on debt, or fixed returns as contingent returns, or ordinary income as capital gains, or domestic-source income as foreign-source, and so on.
5297 Financial Products Taxation - GUPTA (offered in Spring 2021)
The course will cover an understanding of how financial products are sought to be used (or abused) to “optimize” the tax characteristics of income—by recasting, for example, returns on equity as those on debt, or fixed returns as contingent returns, or ordinary income as capital gains, or domestic-source income as foreign-source, and so on.
5197 George Floyd: Equal Justice & Law - DUNCAN (offered in Spring 2021)
This intersession course is a team-taught one-credit course designed to provide a unique opportunity to consider equal justice and other legal issues implicated by the killing of George Floyd and other recent current events.
Instructors include Dean Baynes and Profs. Sandra Guerra Thompson, Daniel Morales, Ellen Marrus, David Dow, and Ron Turner.
It will meet daily from 9:30 a.m. to noon, with a short break mid- class.
5397 Hazardous Waste Law - SHERMAN (offered in Fall 2019)
Examination of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste regulatory program and the Comprehensive Environmental Response , Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (Superfund), analogous State of Texas programs, and significant jurisprudence associated with each; focused exploration of hazardous waste issues relating to consumer electronics, pharmaceutical companies, Big Box retailers, the oil & gas industry, recycling, and corporate sustainability programs.
5297 Health Legislation & Advocacy - SMITH,E/VANE (offered in Fall 2020)
This course will focus on the health care policy and both the legislative and administrative processes to successfully pass or implement a new law or policy. This includes the development process of a policy position, researching and drafting a policy proposal on behalf of a non-profit community partner or similar organization, potentially several throughout the course. Students will learn the skills to determine the best method to advance the law or policy proposal, whether through legislation or rulemaking. Students will testify or meet with current Texas legislators and staff, and several guest speakers will join the course to provide real world perspective.
5397 Health Transactions - MANTEL/McSTAY/SHEA (offered in Spring 2020)
In this advanced health law course students learn and apply substantive laws and lawyering skills to model health care transactions. Working in teams of associates under the supervision of the professors, including practicing health care attorneys, students will engage in health care contract drafting, client interviews, negotiations, due diligence, and regulatory analysis. The model health care transactions are based on deals commonly entered into by hospitals and health systems, including hospital-physician employment agreements, health care joint ventures, and acquisitions.
5397 Health Transactions - MANTEL/McSTAY/SHEA (offered in Spring 2021)
In this advanced health law course students learn and apply substantive laws and lawyering skills to model health care transactions. Working in teams of associates under the supervision of the professors, including practicing health care attorneys, students will engage in health care contract drafting, client interviews, negotiations, due diligence, and regulatory analysis. The model health care transactions are based on deals commonly entered into by hospitals and health systems, including hospital-physician employment agreements, health care joint ventures, and acquisitions.
5397 Health Transactions - MANTEL/McSTAY/SHEA (offered in Spring 2019)
In this advanced health law course students learn and apply substantive laws and lawyering skills to model health care transactions. Working in teams of associates under the supervision of the professors, including practicing health care attorneys, students will engage in health care contract drafting, client interviews, negotiations, due diligence, and regulatory analysis. The model health care transactions are based on deals commonly entered into by hospitals and health systems, including hospital-physician employment agreements, health care joint ventures, and acquisitions.
5297 HIPAA - DACSO/DeMEO (offered in Fall 2019)
5397 Immigration and Family Law - HEPPARD/VEGA (offered in Spring 2019)
In this class, students will work individually and in groups to find legal solutions to hypothetical situations where immigration and family law intersect e.g. marriage, divorce, adoption, domestic violence, the Hague Convention and Suits Affecting the Parent Child Relationship. Students will study family-based immigration law and learn how it relates to representation of individuals in family court. They will develop practical skills that will enable them to successfully represent clients who are seeking immigration benefits through a family member. Students will learn the practical aspects of representation of non-citizens in family court.
5397 Immigration and Family Law - HEPPARD/VEGA (offered in Fall 2020)
In this class, students will work individually and in groups to find legal solutions to hypothetical situations where immigration and family law intersect e.g. marriage, divorce, adoption, domestic violence, the Hague Convention and Suits Affecting the Parent Child Relationship. Students will study family-based immigration law and learn how it relates to representation of individuals in family court. They will develop practical skills that will enable them to successfully represent clients who are seeking immigration benefits through a family member. Students will learn the practical aspects of representation of non-citizens in family court.
5297 Innovation in Legal Service Delivery - FIGUEIREDO (offered in Spring 2021)
This course will explore, and provide students with a panoramic view of, innovations and entrepreneurial/intrapreneurial efforts in the legal ecosystem, ranging from novel legal business models; to the role of technological advances; to examples of current regulatory reform initiatives and proposals; to modeling successes and lessons from other industries’ transformation journeys; to highlighting emerging career paths & critical skills needed for the modern delivery of legal services.
5397 Intellectual Property Survey - MICHAELS (offered in Fall 2019)
This course covers domestic intellectual property laws - patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret - through statues and cases. It is designed to afford the student who intends to practice in other areas an acquaintance with key IP issues, principles and doctrine, and to provide the intellectual property and information law specialist an introduction to the overall subject. The course will provide roughly equal treatment of patent, copyright and trademark law, approximately four weeks for each, with the remainder applied to the law of trade secrets, introduction, and/or review.
5397 International Business Negotiation - REITMAN (offered in Spring 2020)
This course is structured around a semester-long, simulated negotiation exercise which provides an in-depth study of the structuring and negotiating of an international business transaction.
Negotiation sessions will be with counterpart law students at the Calgary university.
Course Description
https://iaals.du.edu/educating-tomorrows-lawyers/projects/resources/international-business-negotiations
5297 International Contracting - BAKAS (offered in Spring 2019)
The course “International contracting” is a simulation course. It presents a background of the law governing international contracting and offers insight in the role of an international corporate lawyer. Students will learn about the free-trade theory, international organizations and sources of the law of international trade with a focus on sale of goods.
Apart from lectures on the various topics, students will negotiate in teams hypothetical international business cases considering commercial and legal issues while representing one of the parties. Cultural differences also play an important role in international contracting which will be addressed as well.
5297 Internet Law - RAIMER (offered in Fall 2019)
This course covers a survey of legal issues arising from the rapid growth of the internet and other on-line communications. The focus will be on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights on the Internet, including copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets. The course will also include discussion on jurisdictional issues, data privacy, and computer crime.
5297 IP for Tech Startups I (IPTS) - WATKINS (offered in Fall 2020)
This course provides an integrated learning experience for all major areas of intellectual property and information law that relate to technology startups. The Law Center student learning is obtained by working with the course instructor and by engaging with tech entrepreneur trainees seeking training in these subjects.
Law students will train tech entrepreneurs about IP law including trade secret law, trademark law, patent law, copyright law, licensing, and other areas. The course aims to train tech entrepreneurs with knowledge and skills to develop sound IP strategies to preserve and optimize the value of their IP. Law students will gain a greater knowledge of substantive law and IP research tools, develop the ability to explain the law to tech clients, gain practice speaking and thinking on their feet, improve legal research skills, and gain an understanding of considerations that go into developing robust IP strategies
The Law Center students provide the entrepreneur trainees with guidance and information to better understand how IP relates to technology startups. The course is not a clinic and the trainees are not clients. The goal is to facilitate the ability of the trainees to use the intellectual property law system to help grow a startup enterprise.
5297 IP for Tech Startups I (IPTS) - WATKINS (offered in Spring 2021)
This course provides an integrated learning experience for all major areas of intellectual property and information law that relate to technology startups. The Law Center student learning is obtained by working with the course instructor and by engaging with tech entrepreneur trainees seeking training in these subjects.
Law students will train tech entrepreneurs about IP law including trade secret law, trademark law, patent law, copyright law, licensing, and other areas. The course aims to train tech entrepreneurs with knowledge and skills to develop sound IP strategies to preserve and optimize the value of their IP. Law students will gain a greater knowledge of substantive law and IP research tools, develop the ability to explain the law to tech clients, gain practice speaking and thinking on their feet, improve legal research skills, and gain an understanding of considerations that go into developing robust IP strategies
The Law Center students provide the entrepreneur trainees with guidance and information to better understand how IP relates to technology startups. The course is not a clinic and the trainees are not clients. The goal is to facilitate the ability of the trainees to use the intellectual property law system to help grow a startup enterprise.
5297 Juvenile Representation - FISHER, DOW, KATYA (offered in Summer I 2019)
Dual-status youth (also often referred to as Crossover Youth) are juveniles who are involved in both the Juvenile Justice system as well as the child welfare system. Students will be trained to represent and advocate for juveniles who are in contact with two different legal systems.
Students will be assigned to delinquency cases for dual-status youth and will be responsible for handling all legal aspects of the delinquency case under the supervision of the supervising attorney. Students will learn the law in a real-life context and develop professional and problem-solving skills. Students will be exposed to a wide range of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies. Students will have the opportunity to investigate cases, interview witnesses and prepare cases for trial.
Students will also learn about the CPS system and factors in this system that impact the delinquency cases and the youth that are facing charges.
The clinic will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. The classroom component will focus on case preparation, negotiating the CPS system, advocacy skills and ethical considerations.
The practical component will allow students to handle different aspects of real cases including appearing in court, negotiating plea agreements and preparing cases for trial.
5297 Juvenile Representation - FISHER, DOW, KATYA (offered in Spring 2019)
Dual-status youth (also often referred to as Crossover Youth) are juveniles who are involved in both the Juvenile Justice system as well as the child welfare system. Students will be trained to represent and advocate for juveniles who are in contact with two different legal systems.
Students will be assigned to delinquency cases for dual-status youth and will be responsible for handling all legal aspects of the delinquency case under the supervision of the supervising attorney. Students will learn the law in a real-life context and develop professional and problem-solving skills. Students will be exposed to a wide range of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies. Students will have the opportunity to investigate cases, interview witnesses and prepare cases for trial.
Students will also learn about the CPS system and factors in this system that impact the delinquency cases and the youth that are facing charges.
The clinic will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. The classroom component will focus on case preparation, negotiating the CPS system, advocacy skills and ethical considerations.
The practical component will allow students to handle different aspects of real cases including appearing in court, negotiating plea agreements and preparing cases for trial.
5297 Juvenile Representation II - FISHER,DOW, KATYA (offered in Spring 2019)
Dual-status youth (also often referred to as Crossover Youth) are juveniles who are involved in both the Juvenile Justice system as well as the child welfare system. Students will be trained to represent and advocate for juveniles who are in contact with two different legal systems.
Students will be assigned to delinquency cases for dual-status youth and will be responsible for handling all legal aspects of the delinquency case under the supervision of the supervising attorney. Students will learn the law in a real-life context and develop professional and problem-solving skills. Students will be exposed to a wide range of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies. Students will have the opportunity to investigate cases, interview witnesses and prepare cases for trial.
Students will also learn about the CPS system and factors in this system that impact the delinquency cases and the youth that are facing charges.
The clinic will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. The classroom component will focus on case preparation, negotiating the CPS system, advocacy skills and ethical considerations.
The practical component will allow students to handle different aspects of real cases including appearing in court, negotiating plea agreements and preparing cases for trial.
5297 Juvenile Representation II - FISHER,DOW, KATYA (offered in Summer I 2019)
Dual-status youth (also often referred to as Crossover Youth) are juveniles who are involved in both the Juvenile Justice system as well as the child welfare system. Students will be trained to represent and advocate for juveniles who are in contact with two different legal systems.
Students will be assigned to delinquency cases for dual-status youth and will be responsible for handling all legal aspects of the delinquency case under the supervision of the supervising attorney. Students will learn the law in a real-life context and develop professional and problem-solving skills. Students will be exposed to a wide range of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies. Students will have the opportunity to investigate cases, interview witnesses and prepare cases for trial.
Students will also learn about the CPS system and factors in this system that impact the delinquency cases and the youth that are facing charges.
The clinic will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. The classroom component will focus on case preparation, negotiating the CPS system, advocacy skills and ethical considerations.
The practical component will allow students to handle different aspects of real cases including appearing in court, negotiating plea agreements and preparing cases for trial.
5297 Juvenile Representation II - FISHER (offered in Fall 2019)
Dual-status youth (also often referred to as Crossover Youth) are juveniles who are involved in both the Juvenile Justice system as well as the child welfare system. Students will be trained to represent and advocate for juveniles who are in contact with two different legal systems.
Students will be assigned to delinquency cases for dual-status youth and will be responsible for handling all legal aspects of the delinquency case under the supervision of the supervising attorney. Students will learn the law in a real-life context and develop professional and problem-solving skills. Students will be exposed to a wide range of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies. Students will have the opportunity to investigate cases, interview witnesses and prepare cases for trial.
Students will also learn about the CPS system and factors in this system that impact the delinquency cases and the youth that are facing charges.
The clinic will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. The classroom component will focus on case preparation, negotiating the CPS system, advocacy skills and ethical considerations.
The practical component will allow students to handle different aspects of real cases including appearing in court, negotiating plea agreements and preparing cases for trial.
5297 Juvenile Representation II - DOW, KATYA/FISHER (offered in Summer I 2020)
If UH mandates during this term that alternate delivery of courses is required, as occurred during Spring of 2020, please note that this course may be delivered via distance education and/or primarily electronic interaction.
Dual-status youth (also often referred to as Crossover Youth) are juveniles who are involved in both the Juvenile Justice system as well as the child welfare system. Students will be trained to represent and advocate for juveniles who are in contact with two different legal systems.
Students will be assigned to delinquency cases for dual-status youth and will be responsible for handling all legal aspects of the delinquency case under the supervision of the supervising attorney. Students will learn the law in a real-life context and develop professional and problem-solving skills. Students will be exposed to a wide range of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies. Students will have the opportunity to investigate cases, interview witnesses and prepare cases for trial.
Students will also learn about the CPS system and factors in this system that impact the delinquency cases and the youth that are facing charges.
The clinic will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. The classroom component will focus on case preparation, negotiating the CPS system, advocacy skills and ethical considerations.
The practical component will allow students to handle different aspects of real cases including appearing in court, negotiating plea agreements and preparing cases for trial.
5297 Juvenile Representation II - DOW,KATYA/FISHER (offered in Spring 2020)
Dual-status youth (also often referred to as Crossover Youth) are juveniles who are involved in both the Juvenile Justice system as well as the child welfare system. Students will be trained to represent and advocate for juveniles who are in contact with two different legal systems.
Students will be assigned to delinquency cases for dual-status youth and will be responsible for handling all legal aspects of the delinquency case under the supervision of the supervising attorney. Students will learn the law in a real-life context and develop professional and problem-solving skills. Students will be exposed to a wide range of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies. Students will have the opportunity to investigate cases, interview witnesses and prepare cases for trial.
Students will also learn about the CPS system and factors in this system that impact the delinquency cases and the youth that are facing charges.
The clinic will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. The classroom component will focus on case preparation, negotiating the CPS system, advocacy skills and ethical considerations.
The practical component will allow students to handle different aspects of real cases including appearing in court, negotiating plea agreements and preparing cases for trial.
5397 Latinos & the Law - MORALES (offered in Fall 2019)
Latinx Americans have a long and diverse history in the United States. This course surveys how law and legal institutions have structured the lives of this racially and culturally diverse group. Legal battles over immigration, language rights, labor, citizenship, among many other Latinx controversies, will be discussed and analyzed. The legal and social experiences of Mexican Americans (Chicanos), Puerto Ricans, and Cubans will be covered in depth. The course is designed to help students of any racial identity gain a systematic understanding of Latinx legal and social history. This knowledge will enable any student to become a more effective advocate for this numerous, but still disadvantaged, American population.
5397 Legal Analysis and Writing - ARRINGTON (offered in Fall 2019)
Quota=15.
Legal Analysis and Writing will familiarize students with the structure of the Texas Bar Exam, offer bar exam preparation and test-taking strategies, and provide face-to-face and written performance feedback through a series of simulation exercises. This class does not replace traditional, private bar preparation companies (i.e. Barbri, Themis, or Kaplan). Rather, it is employed in conjunction with those programs.
Although the primary focus of the course is the Texas Bar Exam, the course will address general bar exam test-taking strategies with a focus on exam essays, the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT) sections, which are non-state specific and common to almost all bar examinations across the country.
5397 Legal Analysis and Writing - SHOTWELL (offered in Spring 2020)
Legal Analysis and Writing will familiarize students with the structure of the Texas Bar Exam, offer bar exam preparation and test-taking strategies, and provide face-to-face and written performance feedback through a series of simulation exercises. This class does not replace traditional, private bar preparation companies (i.e. Barbri, Themis, or Kaplan). Rather, it is employed in conjunction with those programs.
Although the primary focus of the course is the Texas Bar Exam, the course will address general bar exam test-taking strategies with a focus on exam essays, the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT) sections, which are non-state specific and common to almost all bar examinations across the country.
5397 Legal Analysis and Writing - DAVIS (offered in Spring 2020)
Legal Analysis and Writing will familiarize students with the structure of the Texas Bar Exam, offer bar exam preparation and test-taking strategies, and provide face-to-face and written performance feedback through a series of simulation exercises. This class does not replace traditional, private bar preparation companies (i.e. Barbri, Themis, or Kaplan). Rather, it is employed in conjunction with those programs.
Although the primary focus of the course is the Texas Bar Exam, the course will address general bar exam test-taking strategies with a focus on exam essays, the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT) sections, which are non-state specific and common to almost all bar examinations across the country.
5397 Legal Analysis and Writing - ISAAC (offered in Spring 2020)
Legal Analysis and Writing will familiarize students with the structure of the Texas Bar Exam, offer bar exam preparation and test-taking strategies, and provide face-to-face and written performance feedback through a series of simulation exercises. This class does not replace traditional, private bar preparation companies (i.e. Barbri, Themis, or Kaplan). Rather, it is employed in conjunction with those programs.
Although the primary focus of the course is the Texas Bar Exam, the course will address general bar exam test-taking strategies with a focus on exam essays, the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT) sections, which are non-state specific and common to almost all bar examinations across the country.
5397 Legal Analysis and Writing - KENEALLY (offered in Spring 2020)
Quota=15.
Legal Analysis and Writing will familiarize students with the structure of the Texas Bar Exam, offer bar exam preparation and test-taking strategies, and provide face-to-face and written performance feedback through a series of simulation exercises. This class does not replace traditional, private bar preparation companies (i.e. Barbri, Themis, or Kaplan). Rather, it is employed in conjunction with those programs.
Although the primary focus of the course is the Texas Bar Exam, the course will address general bar exam test-taking strategies with a focus on exam essays, the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT) sections, which are non-state specific and common to almost all bar examinations across the country.
5397 Legal Analysis and Writing - LINN (offered in Spring 2020)
Legal Analysis and Writing will familiarize students with the structure of the Texas Bar Exam, offer bar exam preparation and test-taking strategies, and provide face-to-face and written performance feedback through a series of simulation exercises. This class does not replace traditional, private bar preparation companies (i.e. Barbri, Themis, or Kaplan). Rather, it is employed in conjunction with those programs.
Although the primary focus of the course is the Texas Bar Exam, the course will address general bar exam test-taking strategies with a focus on exam essays, the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT) sections, which are non-state specific and common to almost all bar examinations across the country.
5397 Legal Analysis and Writing - KRESS (offered in Spring 2020)
Legal Analysis and Writing will familiarize students with the structure of the Texas Bar Exam, offer bar exam preparation and test-taking strategies, and provide face-to-face and written performance feedback through a series of simulation exercises. This class does not replace traditional, private bar preparation companies (i.e. Barbri, Themis, or Kaplan). Rather, it is employed in conjunction with those programs.
Although the primary focus of the course is the Texas Bar Exam, the course will address general bar exam test-taking strategies with a focus on exam essays, the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT) sections, which are non-state specific and common to almost all bar examinations across the country.
5297 Legal Spanish for Spanish Speakers - ROMERO (offered in Spring 2020)
An advanced-language course for students already fluent in Spanish. Students will strengthen their communicative language skills such as speaking, writing, interpreting, and vocabulary building within the context of several areas of legal practice, including but not limited to criminal law, civil law, and immigration law.
5297 Legal Spanish for Spanish Speakers - ROMERO (offered in Spring 2019)
An advanced-language course for students already fluent in Spanish. Students will strengthen their communicative language skills such as speaking, writing, interpreting, and vocabulary building within the context of several areas of legal practice, including but not limited to criminal law, civil law, and immigration law.
5297 Legal Spanish for Spanish Speakers - ROMERO (offered in Spring 2021)
An advanced-language course for students already fluent in Spanish. Students will strengthen their communicative language skills such as speaking, writing, interpreting, and vocabulary building within the context of several areas of legal practice, including but not limited to criminal law, civil law, and immigration law.
5297 Licensing & Technology Transfer - MAVRAKAKIS/BRUCCULERI (offered in Fall 2019)
A study of licensing in the following types of licenses: patent, copyright, trademark, know-how, and digital information.
5297 Long Term Care and The Law - STERNTHAL (offered in Spring 2019)
Course Outline: Long Term Care and the Law - This course will focus on legal issues relevant to the operations of long term care providers across the continuum of care, including senior housing, assisted living, nursing facilities, Continuing Care Retirement Communities, and hospice and home health. These legal issues include licensure and accreditation, quality regulation and assurance, admission and discharge policies, reimbursement, and care coordination. We will discuss these issue from a policy context as well as through the statutory, regulatory, and common law framework.
5397 Making and Drafting Contracts - LINZER (offered in Spring 2020)
The most important function a contract lawyer has is to make any legitimate desires of the client work, to achieve results. This course will focus both on drafting skills and on other aspects of how lawyers help their clients to make contracts. This includes how to find out just what the client wants; how to learn the details of his business and the law that will govern the transaction; and the ethics of contract practice. We will begin with short sub-courses in drafting and negotiating, but the bulk of the course will be hands-on writing, detailed comments by the instructor and revisions by the student, with extensive feedback from the professor throughout the semester.
5297 Mental Health Law - TOVINO (offered in Spring 2019)
This course will examine a variety of civil and administrative issues pertaining to mental health care access, quality, liability, and finance. Particular attention will be given to federal and state mental health parity law and mandatory mental health and substance use disorder law; federal and state regulation of interventions such as restraint, seclusion, electroconvulsive therapy, and psychosurgery; federal and state laws protecting the confidentiality of mental health and substance use disorder records; state law scope of practice issues for mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, advance nurse practitioners, and counselors; state regulation of involuntary inpatient and outpatient commitment; and civil liability and/or professional discipline for negligent failure to diagnose, negligent misdiagnosis, negligent treatment, negligent referral, sexual and romantic relationships with patients, patient injury following elopement, and patient suicide.
5297 Mental Health Law - HEATH BRENTS (offered in Fall 2021)
This course will examine issues relating to the role of state and local agencies and the courts in mental health care and treatment. Particular attention will be given to state mental health law, including civil commitment and treatment, and the impact that mental health issues have on criminal procedure (competency, insanity defense); mental health care policy and regulation; and practice issues for attorneys practicing in the area of mental health. Federal statutes impacting mental health issues will be included.
5397 Military Justice Clinic - MARQUEZ, Jason (offered in Fall 2020)
Students in the Military Justice Clinic will be assigned to defense teams in military criminal justice cases pending adverse administrative board hearings and felony-level courts-martial. As members of the defense team, students will participate in pretrial conferencing, strategy sessions, investigation, witness interviews, discovery, expert consultant identification, motions practice, and representation at hearings.
The Military Justice Clinic will serve to familiarize students with practice before military courts and administrative boards. At the conclusion of their clinical work, those students with an interest in further military service will have demonstrated their commitment to service along with valuable practical experience. The Clinic’s supervising attorney will advise and assist those students interested in further service with applications to the multiple services Judge Advocates General Corps.
Clinic coursework will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. All case-specific work will remain confidential and protected under the Attorney-Client Privilege.
5497 Military Justice Clinic - MARQUEZ, Jason (offered in Fall 2020)
Students in the Military Justice Clinic will be assigned to defense teams in military criminal justice cases pending adverse administrative board hearings and felony-level courts-martial. As members of the defense team, students will participate in pretrial conferencing, strategy sessions, investigation, witness interviews, discovery, expert consultant identification, motions practice, and representation at hearings.
The Military Justice Clinic will serve to familiarize students with practice before military courts and administrative boards. At the conclusion of their clinical work, those students with an interest in further military service will have demonstrated their commitment to service along with valuable practical experience. The Clinic’s supervising attorney will advise and assist those students interested in further service with applications to the multiple services Judge Advocates General Corps.
Clinic coursework will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. All case-specific work will remain confidential and protected under the Attorney-Client Privilege.
5397 Military Justice Clinic - MARQUEZ, Jason (offered in Spring 2021)
Students in the Military Justice Clinic will be assigned to defense teams in military criminal justice cases pending adverse administrative board hearings and felony-level courts-martial. As members of the defense team, students will participate in pretrial conferencing, strategy sessions, investigation, witness interviews, discovery, expert consultant identification, motions practice, and representation at hearings.
The Military Justice Clinic will serve to familiarize students with practice before military courts and administrative boards. At the conclusion of their clinical work, those students with an interest in further military service will have demonstrated their commitment to service along with valuable practical experience. The Clinic’s supervising attorney will advise and assist those students interested in further service with applications to the multiple services Judge Advocates General Corps.
Clinic coursework will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. All case-specific work will remain confidential and protected under the Attorney-Client Privilege.
5497 Military Justice Clinic - MARQUEZ, Jason (offered in Spring 2021)
Students in the Military Justice Clinic will be assigned to defense teams in military criminal justice cases pending adverse administrative board hearings and felony-level courts-martial. As members of the defense team, students will participate in pretrial conferencing, strategy sessions, investigation, witness interviews, discovery, expert consultant identification, motions practice, and representation at hearings.
The Military Justice Clinic will serve to familiarize students with practice before military courts and administrative boards. At the conclusion of their clinical work, those students with an interest in further military service will have demonstrated their commitment to service along with valuable practical experience. The Clinic’s supervising attorney will advise and assist those students interested in further service with applications to the multiple services Judge Advocates General Corps.
Clinic coursework will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. All case-specific work will remain confidential and protected under the Attorney-Client Privilege.
5497 Military Justice Clinic - MARQUEZ, Jason (offered in Fall 2021)
Students in the Military Justice Clinic will be assigned to defense teams in military criminal justice cases pending adverse administrative board hearings and felony-level courts-martial. As members of the defense team, students will participate in pretrial conferencing, strategy sessions, investigation, witness interviews, discovery, expert consultant identification, motions practice, and representation at hearings.
The Military Justice Clinic will serve to familiarize students with practice before military courts and administrative boards. At the conclusion of their clinical work, those students with an interest in further military service will have demonstrated their commitment to service along with valuable practical experience. The Clinic’s supervising attorney will advise and assist those students interested in further service with applications to the multiple services Judge Advocates General Corps.
Clinic coursework will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. All case-specific work will remain confidential and protected under the Attorney-Client Privilege.
5397 Military Justice Clinic - MARQUEZ, Jason (offered in Fall 2021)
Students in the Military Justice Clinic will be assigned to defense teams in military criminal justice cases pending adverse administrative board hearings and felony-level courts-martial. As members of the defense team, students will participate in pretrial conferencing, strategy sessions, investigation, witness interviews, discovery, expert consultant identification, motions practice, and representation at hearings.
The Military Justice Clinic will serve to familiarize students with practice before military courts and administrative boards. At the conclusion of their clinical work, those students with an interest in further military service will have demonstrated their commitment to service along with valuable practical experience. The Clinic’s supervising attorney will advise and assist those students interested in further service with applications to the multiple services Judge Advocates General Corps.
Clinic coursework will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. All case-specific work will remain confidential and protected under the Attorney-Client Privilege.
5397 Military Justice Clinic II - MARQUEZ, Jason (offered in Spring 2021)
Students in the Military Justice Clinic II course will continue to work with their assigned defense teams on military criminal justice cases pending adverse administrative board hearings and felony-level courts-martial. As members of the defense team, students will participate in pretrial conferencing, strategy sessions, investigation, witness interviews, discovery, expert consultant identification, motions practice, and representation at hearings.
The Military Justice Clinic II course will continue the student’s education through practice before military courts and administrative boards. At the conclusion of their clinical work, those students with an interest in further military service will have demonstrated their commitment to service along with valuable practical experience. The Clinic’s supervising attorney will advise and assist those students interested in further service with applications to the multiple services Judge Advocates General Corps.
Clinic coursework will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. All case-specific work will remain confidential and protected under the Attorney-Client Privilege.
5297 Military Justice Clinic II - MARQUEZ, Jason (offered in Spring 2021)
Students in the Military Justice Clinic II course will continue to work with their assigned defense teams on military criminal justice cases pending adverse administrative board hearings and felony-level courts-martial. As members of the defense team, students will participate in pretrial conferencing, strategy sessions, investigation, witness interviews, discovery, expert consultant identification, motions practice, and representation at hearings.
The Military Justice Clinic II course will continue the student’s education through practice before military courts and administrative boards. At the conclusion of their clinical work, those students with an interest in further military service will have demonstrated their commitment to service along with valuable practical experience. The Clinic’s supervising attorney will advise and assist those students interested in further service with applications to the multiple services Judge Advocates General Corps.
Clinic coursework will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. All case-specific work will remain confidential and protected under the Attorney-Client Privilege.
5297 Military Justice Clinic II - MARQUEZ, Jason (offered in Fall 2021)
Students in the Military Justice Clinic II course will continue to work with their assigned defense teams on military criminal justice cases pending adverse administrative board hearings and felony-level courts-martial. As members of the defense team, students will participate in pretrial conferencing, strategy sessions, investigation, witness interviews, discovery, expert consultant identification, motions practice, and representation at hearings.
The Military Justice Clinic II course will continue the student’s education through practice before military courts and administrative boards. At the conclusion of their clinical work, those students with an interest in further military service will have demonstrated their commitment to service along with valuable practical experience. The Clinic’s supervising attorney will advise and assist those students interested in further service with applications to the multiple services Judge Advocates General Corps.
Clinic coursework will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. All case-specific work will remain confidential and protected under the Attorney-Client Privilege.
5397 NAFTA 2.0: North American Trade After the USMCA - TRUJILLO (offered in SummerMini 2021)
This course will examine the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in its original form and contrast it to the USMCA. The course will include a brief introduction into the Mexican and Canadian legal cultures, to the multilateral trading system under the GATT and the WTO, and it will the future of North American integration in the context of NAFTA renegotiations and other regional agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Class discussion will include whether there is a future for the integration project. How would a new project look like? What legal instruments and institutions continue to be available for future economic integration and what are the key issues today for a viable international trade regime in the region?
5297 NAFTA 2.0: North American Trade After the USMCA - TRUJILLO (offered in Spring 2020)
This two-hour course will examine the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in its original form and contrast it to the USMCA. The course will include a brief introduction into the Mexican and Canadian legal cultures, to the multilateral trading system under the GATT and the WTO, and it will the future of North American integration in the context of NAFTA renegotiations and other regional agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Class discussion will include whether there is a future for the integration project. How would a new project look like? What legal instruments and institutions continue to be available for future economic integration and what are the key issues today for a viable international trade regime in the region?
5297 Negotiation in Sports - LAWRENCE/JONES (offered in Spring 2020)
The skill of negotiating is required in all areas and all phases of legal practice. The purpose of the negotiation course can be described in terms of providing participants with a theoretical framework and practical tools for resolving issues on favorable terms while maintaining or enhancing relationships. The objectives for the course are to help participants better understand the significance of process in negotiation, the importance of preparation in achieving objectives, and the value of adherence to fundamental principles; to provide participants with practical tools to prepare more effectively, to organize thinking to help make critical decisions, to adopt and implement effective negotiation strategies, and to learn from future negotiations; and to help participants improve negotiation skills.
5297 Negotiation in Sports - LAWRENCE/JONES (offered in Spring 2019)
The skill of negotiating is required in all areas and all phases of legal practice. The purpose of the negotiation course can be described in terms of providing participants with a theoretical framework and practical tools for resolving issues on favorable terms while maintaining or enhancing relationships. The objectives for the course are to help participants better understand the significance of process in negotiation, the importance of preparation in achieving objectives, and the value of adherence to fundamental principles; to provide participants with practical tools to prepare more effectively, to organize thinking to help make critical decisions, to adopt and implement effective negotiation strategies, and to learn from future negotiations; and to help participants improve negotiation skills.
5297 Negotiation in Sports - LAWRENCE/JONES (offered in Summer II 2019)
The skill of negotiating is required in all areas and all phases of legal practice. The purpose of the negotiation course can be described in terms of providing participants with a theoretical framework and practical tools for resolving issues on favorable terms while maintaining or enhancing relationships. The objectives for the course are to help participants better understand the significance of process in negotiation, the importance of preparation in achieving objectives, and the value of adherence to fundamental principles; to provide participants with practical tools to prepare more effectively, to organize thinking to help make critical decisions, to adopt and implement effective negotiation strategies, and to learn from future negotiations; and to help participants improve negotiation skills.
5297 Offshore Energy Development - MCCAY (offered in Spring 2019)
The course will cover Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales, Joint Operating Agreements, Participation Agreements, Suspensions of Operations or Production, the cycle time from lease acquisition to first oil or gas, mid-stream issues (pipelines to shore and Production Handling Agreements), development of infrastructure, internal approval processes of Lessees, federal regulations and Notices to Lessees addressing these matters, and other related topics.
5297 Offshore Energy Development - MCCAY (offered in Spring 2020)
The course will cover Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Leasing Procedures, Joint Operating Agreements, Offshore Drilling and Service Contracts, Suspensions of Operations or Production, Decommissioning, the cycle time from lease acquisition to first oil or gas, development of offshore infrastructure, and other related topics, analyzing them through the prism of statutes, federal regulations, relevant agencies' interpretations and guidance, and contracts used by oil and gas companies.
5397 Partnership Tax - TBA (offered in Fall 2020)
This course provides an overview of the US federal income taxation of business entities treated as partnerships for US federal income tax purposes with the objective of imparting a practical understanding of fundamental principles through a problem oriented approach to the subject matter.
5397 Professional Writing Strategies - DAVIS/REED (offered in Spring 2020)
This course introduces students to the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”), which is a component of the Texas bar examination and the Uniform Bar Exam (“UBE). Through this course students will actively employ the MPT skills through multiple assessments and exercises. Students will receive instructive as well as constructive feedback with regard to their individual MPT performance along with numerous strategies to attack the MPT. Students will also be given numerous opportunities to actively self-evaluate their performance to help leverage their ability to independently identify, address, and solve areas of opportunity to improve.
5397 Professional Writing Strategies (Distance Education) - SWIFT (offered in Spring 2021)
This course introduces students to the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”), which is a component of the Texas bar examination and the Uniform Bar Exam (“UBE). Through this course students will actively employ the MPT skills through multiple assessments and exercises. Students will receive instructive as well as constructive feedback with regard to their individual MPT performance along with numerous strategies to attack the MPT. Students will also be given numerous opportunities to actively self-evaluate their performance to help leverage their ability to independently identify, address, and solve areas of opportunity to improve.
5397 Professional Writing Strategies (Distance Education) - SWIFT (offered in Summer I 2021)
This course introduces students to the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”), which is a component of the Texas bar examination and the Uniform Bar Exam (“UBE). Through this course students will actively employ the MPT skills through multiple assessments and exercises. Students will receive instructive as well as constructive feedback with regard to their individual MPT performance along with numerous strategies to attack the MPT. Students will also be given numerous opportunities to actively self-evaluate their performance to help leverage their ability to independently identify, address, and solve areas of opportunity to improve.
5397 Regulating Disruptive Innovation: Biomedicine & Beyond - EVANS (offered in Spring 2020)
This course explores unresolved legal, societal, and ethical challenges with big data systems, AI/machine learning software, robotics, gene editing and other biotechnologies that already are disrupting healthcare and many other industries. It surveys the key legal frameworks for addressing those challenges (FDA, CDC, EPA, USDA, FTC, privacy, antitrust, healthcare reimbursement, welfare) and introduces crucial concepts in business-model and value-chain innovation.
This course is cross-listed with UH’s Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department as course ECE 6397-25251 Medical Devices: Law, Regulation, and Ethics and provides the opportunity for collaborative, multi-disciplinary learning and problem-solving. The course is accessible to students with various backgrounds. No special expertise of science, engineering, or law is required, and we will look for common ground and put our heads together to solve some of society’s most pressing problems.
Prof. Evans is an acclaimed law professor with credentials in engineering as well as law. She is a global authority on biotechnology and law. See her bio below, and the short videos of her role in debates about DNA editing:
http://www.law.uh.edu/faculty/main.asp?PID=4379 (UH bio page)
Oxford Union Debating Society: Debate on the morality of human genome editing:
https://www.youtube.cobm/watch?v=O4uyXpBAmXQ (DNA editing debate response)
U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, U.K.Royal Society, and Chinese Academy of Sciences, International Summit on Human Gene Editing:
https://vimeo.com/showcase/3704161?page=2
5297 Reproductive Rights - RAINE (offered in Spring 2020)
This course introduces issues in reproductive health rights including regulation of sex, pregnancy and birth, family autonomy, and reproduction. Specifically, we will address legal and ethical questions that arise in the context of providing family planning services, assisted reproductive technologies, and pregnancy. We will examine the issues from both a historical and contemporary perspective, considering the role that culture, gender, race, class, religion, sexual orientation, and social institutions play in how law shapes reproduction.
5297 Resistance in the Courts: Civil Rights Litigation - SEGURA/TRIGILIO (offered in Spring 2019)
While courts have served as an important safeguard to constitutional rights and liberties, the road to justice can be challenging—whether you seek to combat government abuses on systemic level or seek justice on behalf of an individual client. Nevertheless, the most pressing civil rights issues of our time continue to be decided through our judicial system. This is a 2-credit simulation course for students who are interested in deepening their knowledge of civil rights litigation—with a particular focus on issues stemming from actions against state and local actors under Section 1983. During this course, we will study substantive and practice-oriented issues, as well as some of the strategic and ethical considerations faced by lawyers working in the field. In order to ground the course in real-world issues, we will use a recent or on-going civil rights lawsuits as case studies. Students will also engage in in-class simulations.
5297 Resistance in the Courts: Civil Rights Litigation - SEGURA/TRIGILIO (offered in Spring 2020)
While courts have served as an important safeguard to constitutional rights and liberties, the road to justice can be challenging—whether you seek to combat government abuses on systemic level or seek justice on behalf of an individual client. Nevertheless, the most pressing civil rights issues of our time continue to be decided through our judicial system. This is a 2-credit simulation course for students who are interested in deepening their knowledge of civil rights litigation—with a particular focus on issues stemming from actions against state and local actors under Section 1983. During this course, we will study substantive and practice-oriented issues, as well as some of the strategic and ethical considerations faced by lawyers working in the field. In order to ground the course in real-world issues, we will use a recent or on-going civil rights lawsuits as case studies. Students will also engage in in-class simulations.
5297 Space Law - BRESNIK (offered in Fall 2020)
If UH mandates during this term that alternate delivery of courses is required, as occurred during Spring of 2020, please note that this course may be delivered via distance education and/or primarily electronic interaction.
The major objectives are to provide a basic understanding of the legal regime governing outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies. In providing this basic understanding the course would start with an analysis of the development of space law and fundamental legal principles applicable to outer space, to also include the International Space Station and its legal structure. After providing a basic understanding, the course will then concentrate on recent developments and more specific topics in space law which include property rights and claim of sovereignty over outer space and celestial bodies, Outer Space Treaty requirement that are applicability to new proposed activities in space, commercialization and privatization of low earth orbit, orbital debris legal issues and governance, intellectual property and export control laws as applicable to space activities. The course will also cover the very recent developments at a national level by examining recent U.S. developments in the areas of space law and policy.
5297 Space Law - BRESNIK (offered in Spring 2019)
The major objectives are to provide a basic understanding of the legal regime governing outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies. In providing this basic understanding the course would start with an analysis of the development of space law and fundamental legal principles applicable to outer space, to also include the International Space Station and its legal structure. After providing a basic understanding, the course will then concentrate on recent developments and more specific topics in space law which include property rights and claim of sovereignty over outer space and celestial bodies, Outer Space Treaty requirement that are applicability to new proposed activities in space, commercialization and privatization of low earth orbit, orbital debris legal issues and governance, intellectual property and export control laws as applicable to space activities. The course will also cover the very recent developments at a national level by examining recent U.S. developments in the areas of space law and policy.
5497 Street Law II - MARRUS (offered in Spring 2019)
Law students will teach high school age students about the law as a continuation of Street Law I. The semester also includes preparing the high school age students to compete in a Mock Trial competition. Street Law empowers young people to be active, engaged citizens by equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to successfully participate in their communities. Law students will gain a greater knowledge of substantive law and how to explain the law to lay people, develop their ability for oral presentations both in formal settings and thinking on their feet, improve legal research skills, and gain an understanding of the legal system in the context of those persons directly affected by it.
Students will participate in a weekly seminar class that will provide the resources and tools necessary for teaching the law to high school students and will commit to teach approximately 3-4 hours a week in a high school or a community organization.
5497 Street Law II - MARRUS/HUNT (offered in Spring 2020)
Law students will teach high school age students about the law as a continuation of Street Law I. The semester also includes preparing the high school age students to compete in a Mock Trial competition. Street Law empowers young people to be active, engaged citizens by equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to successfully participate in their communities. Law students will gain a greater knowledge of substantive law and how to explain the law to lay people, develop their ability for oral presentations both in formal settings and thinking on their feet, improve legal research skills, and gain an understanding of the legal system in the context of those persons directly affected by it.
Students will participate in a weekly seminar class that will provide the resources and tools necessary for teaching the law to high school students and will commit to teach approximately 3-4 hours a week in a high school or a community organization.
5497 Street Law II - MARRUS/ROISMAN (offered in Spring 2021)
Law students will teach high school age students about the law as a continuation of Street Law I. The semester also includes preparing the high school age students to compete in a Mock Trial competition. Street Law empowers young people to be active, engaged citizens by equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to successfully participate in their communities. Law students will gain a greater knowledge of substantive law and how to explain the law to lay people, develop their ability for oral presentations both in formal settings and thinking on their feet, improve legal research skills, and gain an understanding of the legal system in the context of those persons directly affected by it.
Students will participate in a weekly seminar class that will provide the resources and tools necessary for teaching the law to high school students and will commit to teach approximately 3-4 hours a week in a high school or a community organization.
5397 Terrorism and the Law - HAMDANI (offered in Spring 2021)
This course will focus on the U.S. Government’s authority and limitations to prevent and prosecute acts of terrorism in the homeland and elsewhere. Special attention will be given to national security policies and laws that affect the individual privacy rights of all citizens. Topics will include the designation of enemy combatants, military tribunals, and detention of suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Attention will also be given to the use of secret wiretaps used by the FBI and other federal stakeholders to monitor terrorist activity. Particular attention will be given to limits the courts place on the President and Congress as they attempt to protect the nation from attacks by al Qaeda, ISIS and other foreign terrorist organizations. Guest speakers from the FBI, CIA and DOD will appear in class to discuss the role their agencies play in the war on terror.
*The views expressed by the professors do not necessarily reflect the views of their respective employer – The United States Department of Justice.
5397 Terrorism and the Law - MARTINEZ/HAMDANI (offered in Spring 2020)
This course will focus on the U.S. Government’s authority and limitations to prevent and prosecute acts of terrorism in the homeland and elsewhere. Special attention will be given to national security policies and laws that affect the individual privacy rights of all citizens. Topics will include the designation of enemy combatants, military tribunals, and detention of suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Attention will also be given to the use of secret wiretaps used by the FBI and other federal stakeholders to monitor terrorist activity. Particular attention will be given to limits the courts place on the President and Congress as they attempt to protect the nation from attacks by al Qaeda, ISIS and other foreign terrorist organizations. Guest speakers from the FBI, CIA and DOD will appear in class to discuss the role their agencies play in the war on terror.
*The views expressed by the professors do not necessarily reflect the views of their respective employer – The United States Department of Justice.
5197 Texas Consumer Law Lab - MARQUEZ (offered in Spring 2019)
Consumer Law- This one credit hour practical course will provide students who are co-registered in 5348 – Texas Consumer Law Course a real-life legal experience giving advice and counsel to members of the community who have consumer law problems. This course allows students to reinforce the consumer law statues they are learning in the associated Consumer Law Course. Students will be required to work in the “lab” for 50 hours over the course of the semester at times arranged with the lab supervisor.
5197 Texas Legal Research ( Distance Learning) - WATSON/LAWSON/DYKES/BADEAUX (offered in Summer I 2019)
This course will expand on research skills explored in your first-year lawyering skills and strategies course with a focus on Texas specific resources. Topics for the class will include sources for Texas case law, statutory, and regulatory research; secondary sources and practitioners’ materials specific to Texas; and understanding and using Texas legislative histories.
Throughout the course, you will learn the research skills typical of a new attorney. You will know how to:
• Identify a full range of Texas primary and secondary materials available, regardless of type or format
• Locate Texas statutes, rules, and regulations using effective and efficient search techniques
• Analyze and interpret what you find
• Apply your research findings to a set of facts based in Texas law
5197 Texas Legal Research ( Distance Learning) - WATSON/LAWSON/DYKES/BADEAUX (offered in Summer I 2020)
This course will expand on research skills explored in your first-year lawyering skills and strategies course with a focus on Texas specific resources. Topics for the class will include sources for Texas case law, statutory, and regulatory research; secondary sources and practitioners’ materials specific to Texas; and understanding and using Texas legislative histories.
Throughout the course, you will learn the research skills typical of a new attorney. You will know how to:
• Identify a full range of Texas primary and secondary materials available, regardless of type or format
• Locate Texas statutes, rules, and regulations using effective and efficient search techniques
• Analyze and interpret what you find
• Apply your research findings to a set of facts based in Texas law
5297 Texas Oil & Gas Lease - MARTIN/KUIPER (offered in Fall 2021)
The Texas Oil and Gas Lease will examine the nuances and specificities of drafting and interpreting modern oil and gas leases, and how oil and gas operations are affected by same.
5297 The Current Crisis in the Middle East - FOTEH (offered in SummerMini 2020)
If UH mandates during this term that alternate delivery of courses is required, as occurred during Spring of 2020, please note that this course may be delivered via distance education and/or primarily electronic interaction.
This course will provide insight into substantive areas of history, religion, politics (regional and worldwide), longstanding relationships, legal systems, human rights and women’s rights framed by current events in the most volatile and important region in the world.
Since the beginning of civilization, the Middle East has been the hotbed of ongoing conflict. It is to the point where one conflict is almost indistinguishable from another. The current provocation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran could potentially alter the map of the Middle East and have a massive irrevocable impact on the entire world.
This course will begin by examining the issues leading up to the current hostility and continue through the potential outcomes and its potential impact on the world.
This course will be a timely and interesting way to begin to understand the issues involved in this region and how it can impact Houston and the world.
5297 The Current Crisis in the Middle East - FOTEH (offered in SummerMini 2021)
This course will provide insight into substantive areas of history, religion, politics (regional and worldwide), longstanding relationships, legal systems, human rights and women’s rights framed by current events in the most volatile and important region in the world.
Since the beginning of civilization, the Middle East has been the hotbed of ongoing conflict. It is to the point where one conflict is almost indistinguishable from another. The current provocation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran could potentially alter the map of the Middle East and have a massive irrevocable impact on the entire world.
This course will begin by examining the issues leading up to the current hostility and continue through the potential outcomes and its potential impact on the world.
This course will be a timely and interesting way to begin to understand the issues involved in this region and how it can impact Houston and the world.
5297 The Current Crisis in the Middle East - FOTEH (offered in SummerMini 2019)
This course will provide insight into substantive areas of history, religion, politics (regional and worldwide), longstanding relationships, legal systems, human rights and women’s rights framed by current events in the most volatile and important region in the world.
Since the beginning of civilization, the Middle East has been the hotbed of ongoing conflict. It is to the point where one conflict is almost indistinguishable from another. The current provocation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran could potentially alter the map of the Middle East and have a massive irrevocable impact on the entire world.
This course will begin by examining the issues leading up to the current hostility and continue through the potential outcomes and its potential impact on the world.
This course will be a timely and interesting way to begin to understand the issues involved in this region and how it can impact Houston and the world.
5397 The Modern Day Trial Lawyer: Redefining Trials & Trial Lawyers - SOLAR (offered in Spring 2019)
The focus of this course is on the underlying foundation of trial skills. It is about “being” as opposed to “doing”. This course will analyze and discuss whether or not, indeed, those classical Trial Lawyer characteristics are even relevant in an age where less than 2% of cases filed are tried to a jury verdict. The new reality is that we have increasingly become “litigators.” A mediator is the new Judge, and the mediator’s office is the new Courtroom. This new era of glorified litigators tests our ability to maximize recoveries for our clients through increasingly sophisticated arbitrations, mediations, or private trials.
5397 Trial Strategy and Case Management: The Art of Winning at an Unfair Game - SOLAR (offered in Spring 2019)
The primary objective of this course is to arm the prospective solo or small firm lawyers with the strategic and tactical tools necessary for winning against the odds. You will, among other things, learn: what it means to be an entrepreneur; how to develop a business plan; how to promote yourself and your practice ethically; how to interview a prospective client; how to draft an ethical and enforceable contract of employment; whether to keep a case or refer it out; how to recognize and prosecute a winning case. You will learn how David beat Goliath and so that you can, too.
5397 U.S. Biotechnology Regulatory Framework - EVANS (offered in Spring 2019)
This course provides a practice-oriented introduction to the U.S. Coordinated Framework for regulating fast-emerging technologies such as smart robots, artificial intelligence software, precision medicine, neurotechnologies and advanced prosthetics, genomic testing and gene-edited life forms. Collectively, these technologies promise to revolutionize healthcare, enhance human capabilities, and address nagging environmental and social problems such as world hunger, yet they threaten to displace workers (including, potentially, in law) and disrupt entire economic sectors. The course offers a manageable, highly practical survey of key US safety regulations administered by agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It also samples the difficult ethical, privacy, societal, and human rights issues these technologies are already raising.
5397 Well-Being in the Law - HOFFMANL (offered in Spring 2020)
This course rigorously explores the challenges to well-being and happiness facing law students and legal professionals and then examines possible paths to overcoming those challenges. We will consider a number of questions and hard issues that bear directly on the lives of students now and after they enter the legal profession. For more, see the syllabus
7397 WRC: Bioethics - GRIFFIN (offered in Fall 2019)
Bioethics explores the law and policy relating to bioethical issues such as genetic screening, defining death, the right to live or to die, informed consent, neuroscience, stem cell research, organ transplants, reproductive rights, medical conscience, medical property, and research involving human subjects.
7397 WRC: General Drafting for Smaller to Midsize Firm Attorneys ( Distance Learning) - SWIFT (offered in Summer I 2019)
In this course you will develop skills necessary for drafting precise, clear, and complete documents. You will be exposed to drafting litigation documents, contracts, and other legal documents covering a wide-range of practice areas, similar to what some small to mid-size attorneys do, particularly early on in their careers. You will learn to research, evaluate, and use forms and checklists.
7397 WRC: General Drafting for Smaller to Midsize Firm Attorneys ( Distance Learning) - SWIFT (offered in Summer I 2020)
In this course you will develop skills necessary for drafting precise, clear, and complete documents. You will be exposed to drafting litigation documents, contracts, and other legal documents covering a wide-range of practice areas, similar to what some small to mid-size attorneys do, particularly early on in their careers. You will learn to research, evaluate, and use forms and checklists.
7397 WRC:Advanced Legal Writing - MASELLI (offered in Fall 2019)
ALW 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 first year Lawyering Skills and Strategies classes and will help students to refine and further develop problem solving, factual investigation and drafting skills. Assignments will include (1) writing a brief involving a complex legal issue; (2) drafting an opinion 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.
7397 WRS: Advanced Contract Law - HAWKINS (offered in Spring 2019)
This course will consider advanced topics in contract law such as international sales agreements, common law quality warranties, arbitration clauses, and termination clauses . We will read and discuss law review articles, statutes, cases, and/or books that deal with contract law, and we will consider how to change the laws to meet policy goals. Students' grades will be based on an outline, rough draft, final paper, and presentation on a contract law topic, and on class participation
7397 WRS: Advanced Topics in Family Law - OLDHAM (offered in Fall 2020)
Advanced Topics in Family Law - Current Issues in Adoption and Assisted Reproduction is a seminar whose main focus is to allow students to complete a research paper relating to family law. The paper, which will satisfy the UH Law writing requirement, needs to be 35 pages long. After submitting a detailed outline, one draft will need to be submitted before the final version.
7397 WRS: Animal Law (Distance Learning) - MORATH (offered in Summer I 2020)
Animal Law is one of the fastest growing fields of legal practice and may involve issues of constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, family law, and estates and trusts. In this class, we will address a broad range of topics including: the historical status of animals in the law; state legislative efforts and citizen initiatives to strengthen animal protection laws; the application of federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act, to captive animals, wildlife, and farm animals; animal-related torts; constitutional standing to sue on behalf of animals; companion animals and the law; and the movement to obtain legal recognition of the rights of animals. All perspectives will be considered in class discussion and assignments. The class will include a guest speaker and a field trip. Students will be assessed through a combination of classroom participation, written reflections, and a final paper.
7397 WRS: Animal Law (Distance Learning) - MORATH (offered in Summer I 2021)
Animal Law is one of the fastest growing fields of legal practice and may involve issues of constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, family law, and estates and trusts. In this class, we will address a broad range of topics including: the historical status of animals in the law; state legislative efforts and citizen initiatives to strengthen animal protection laws; the application of federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act, to captive animals, wildlife, and farm animals; animal-related torts; constitutional standing to sue on behalf of animals; companion animals and the law; and the movement to obtain legal recognition of the rights of animals. All perspectives will be considered in class discussion and assignments. The class will include a guest speaker and a field trip. Students will be assessed through a combination of classroom participation, written reflections, and a final paper.
7397 WRS: Animal Law (Distance Learning) - MORATH (offered in Summer I 2019)
Animal Law is one of the fastest growing fields of legal practice and may involve issues of constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, family law, and estates and trusts. In this class, we will address a broad range of topics including: the historical status of animals in the law; state legislative efforts and citizen initiatives to strengthen animal protection laws; the application of federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act, to captive animals, wildlife, and farm animals; animal-related torts; constitutional standing to sue on behalf of animals; companion animals and the law; and the movement to obtain legal recognition of the rights of animals. All perspectives will be considered in class discussion and assignments. The class will include a guest speaker and a field trip. Students will be assessed through a combination of classroom participation, written reflections, and a final paper.
7397 WRS: Antidiscrimination - AREHEART (offered in Fall 2021)
Antidiscrimination law has expanded dramatically over the past several decades. There has been a push to expand beyond traditionally protected classes – e.g., race, sex, and religion – to protect people on the basis of a wide range of considerations, including (but not limited to) weight, criminal records, credit histories, sexual orientation, prior salaries, genetics, disability, and appearance. Further, some laws protect only some groups within a band of identity (e.g., the ADEA protects only workers over the age of 40 and the ADA protects only persons with disabilities) while some laws protect all persons on the basis of a particular trait (e.g., Title VII protects all people on the basis of race and sex). The push to expand discrimination law and the legislative choices made to protect some groups, but not others, leads to a fundamental and somewhat rudimentary set of questions: What is discrimination? When is it wrong? And should the law do anything about it?
This seminar will explore these questions and others. It will allow us to better understand why the law protects some people against some forms of discrimination – but not others. The first part of this seminar will approach discrimination law from a legal philosophy lens. We will consider hard questions, such as: What is discrimination? Why is it wrong? Is equality of opportunity possible? What is discrimination law? And what is the purpose of discrimination law? We will then move into more particular areas and queries. We will consider questions, such as: Is everyone biased? Can we do anything about it? What are the limits of discrimination law? Are there more creative approaches to achieving equality? And what are the next frontiers for discrimination law? The readings and discussions, taken together, will provide you with a foundation on which to build and revise your paper, which should fit generally within the ambit of antidiscrimination law or theory. This seminar is intended to provoke you to think long and deeply about the project of antidiscrimination.
7397 WRS: Bioethics - KOCH (offered in Fall 2020)
Bioethics explores the law and policy relating to issues such as informed consent, genetic screening, defining death, withholding and withdrawing life sustaining treatment, assisted reproduction, research involving human participants, and anatomical gifts.
7397 WRS: Climate Intervention Law & Policy - HESTER (offered in Fall 2020)
Climate change poses one of the greatest threats of our time, but our legal and regulatory systems have enormous difficulties in responding to it. As a result, the consequences of climate change are inexorably growing while global emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity continue to accelerate.
To help bridge the gap between increasing emissions and the pace of governmental and private action, the emerging field of climate intervention explores options to directly control or alter the environment in ways to offset or prevent climate change effects. These strategies, so far, have generally fallen into two categories: technologies that reduce the amount of solar radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface, and methods that directly remove large amounts of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Both of these approaches pose unique challenges to environmental law and climate change regulatory policy.
This class is the first law school seminar offered in the United States on climate intervention law. We will explore how this nascent field of law will grow, and experiment with different approaches and frameworks that could apply to climate intervention initiatives under international law and under U.S. and state laws. As part of that process, we will also discuss the growing field of climate change law in general and how it might interact with climate intervention work.
As an outcome of taking this class, you should be able to identify key regulatory issues and liability risks associated with climate intervention efforts and strategies to help manage those risks (including, if needed, halting a project entirely).
The class will use a combination of lectures, class discussions, case studies, in-class exercises and sample problems. Where possible, we’ll use real-life proposed experiments and demonstration projects, and will reach out to bring key researchers to speak with us where possible. This class might include remote participation in two international climate engineering conferences in Berlin.
7397 WRS: Corporate Criminal Liability - GILCHRIST (offered in Fall 2021)
This seminar will explore issues surrounding holding corporations criminally accountable. It will discuss the basic rules of corporate criminal liability, the principles guiding the decision whether to prosecute a corporation, and the role of culture in corporate wrongdoing. It will ask students to consider the costs and benefits of, and rationales for, applying criminal law to non-persons, and to consider the role of criminal law more generally.
7397 WRS: Credit Cards, Law & Policy - HAWKINS (offered in Spring 2021)
Credit cards are everywhere in America, but in terms a payment system, they are a relatively recent innovation. In this writing seminar, we will read law review articles, cases, and other economics/business journal articles and/or books about the history of credit cards in America, the economics of credit cards, the consumer-protection issues related to credit cards, the credit card business, and the laws related to these issues. The goal is to obtain an in depth understanding of the credit card law and market and to produce a 10,000 word paper.
7397 WRS: Crimmigration - MORALES (offered in Spring 2020)
In this seminar we will examine the intersection of immigration and crime in the United States. The concepts have no inherent relationship, yet have always overlapped to some degree and, in recent decades, have converged. The law of immigration incorporates the criminal law, most prominently by premising deportation and admission decisions, respectively, on the presence or absence of criminal convictions. The criminal law serves the ends of immigration law by forbidding, among other acts, entry and re-entry without authorization and punishing violators with prison. But this is more than a story of interwoven statutes. The strategies used to regulate immigration have come increasingly to resemble those deployed against crime, and to startling consequence: 1.6 million citizen/migrant families separated by deportation, a nearly five-fold increase in the cost of incarceration for immigration violations, the militarization of America’s southern border. At the same time, criminality has tainted the social meaning of immigration. And that more recent association has been amplified by the racial composition of those who are deported, 88 percent of whom hail from Central America.
7397 WRS: Gender, Power, Law & Leadership - KNAKE (offered in Spring 2020)
This seminar is inspired by the glaring omission of women from positions of power and leadership in the legal profession and beyond. While women continue to enter law school and the legal profession in relatively equal numbers to men, they remain outside of the structures of power---in the judiciary, law firms, the corporate world and even legal education---in the United States and beyond. This reality is even worse for women of color. Researchers, scholars, and practitioners commit a great deal of time, energy and resources to trying to change the landscape, yet progress seems stalled. Interestingly, very little attention is paid to the site where it all begins: law school. In this way, it makes sense to devote attention in an academic context to this topic. This seminar exposes students to various theories of leadership and law (including feminist legal theory and critical race theory) and pursues an ongoing exploration of intersections of gender, race, power and law. As but a few examples, we will define the leadership landscape, identify (and consider solutions to overcome) barriers and obstacles to advancement, and address the question whether gender and race matter, using the judiciary and judicial decision making as a case study. In recognition of the power of narrative and storytelling, students select and read a biography about a transformative lawyer during the semester. Students must write a substantial research paper, and will receive guidance about how to potentially publish their research as an op-ed, trade publication essay, or scholarly article.
7397 WRS: Gender, Power, Law & Leadership - KNAKE (offered in Spring 2021)
This seminar is inspired by the glaring omission of women from positions of power and leadership in the legal profession and beyond. While women continue to enter law school and the legal profession in relatively equal numbers to men, they remain outside of the structures of power---in the judiciary, law firms, the corporate world and even legal education---in the United States and beyond. This reality is even worse for women of color. Researchers, scholars, and practitioners commit a great deal of time, energy and resources to trying to change the landscape, yet progress seems stalled. Interestingly, very little attention is paid to the site where it all begins: law school. In this way, it makes sense to devote attention in an academic context to this topic. This seminar exposes students to various theories of leadership and law (including feminist legal theory and critical race theory) and pursues an ongoing exploration of intersections of gender, race, power and law. As but a few examples, we will define the leadership landscape, identify (and consider solutions to overcome) barriers and obstacles to advancement, and address the question whether gender and race matter, using the judiciary and judicial decision making as a case study. In recognition of the power of narrative and storytelling, students select and read a biography about a transformative lawyer during the semester. Students must write a substantial research paper, and will receive guidance about how to potentially publish their research as an op-ed, trade publication essay, or scholarly article.
7397 WRS: Immigration Law & Business - OLIVAS (offered in Spring 2019)
This course, which will be open to 2L, 3L, 4L, and LLM students, as well as graduate students in UH departments outside the Law Center, will assume some familiarity with basic U.S. immigration law. It will concentrate upon the employment-based provisions of immigration law (EB), particularly those non-immigrant and permanent resident provisions that authorize employment.
This course will provide an overview of immigration issues in employment, including an explanation of U.S. immigration policy and its impact on U.S. employers; visa categories available to employers and their foreign employees who wish to work in the U.S.; the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (which cover employers not covered by Title VII); and Form I-9 issues. More specifically, discussion will include differences between permanent resident/immigrant visas (more commonly known as "green card") and nonimmigrant visa status and the subcategories within each, as well as the different criteria that must be met in order to qualify for specific visas. The several employment-based visas will be emphasized, including L-1 "intracompany transfer" visas, H-1B "specialty occupation" visas, E treaty/trader/investor visas, O, P, and TN visas under NAFTA.
7397 WRS: Int'l Justice & Atrocities - KAUFMAN (offered in Fall 2019)
Atrocity crimes—including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity—continue to rage around the world, from Syria and South Sudan to Iraq and Myanmar. This course examines origins, operations, and outcomes of historical and contemporary international justice measures to address such heinous offenses. We will consider the full range of judicial, legislative, and executive justice mechanisms available to policymakers as societies emerge from periods of violence and repression. These mechanisms include war crimes tribunals (such as the International Criminal Court), truth commissions, amnesties, lustration, exile, indefinite detention, lethal force, and inaction. The course draws on various case studies, including present-day Syria and Iraq, Rwanda and the Balkans in the 1990s, and World War II. Readings address the legal, political, and philosophical underpinnings of justice; questions of institutional design; and how different societies have balanced competing legal, policy, and moral imperatives.
7397 WRS: Int'l Justice & Atrocities - KAUFMAN (offered in Spring 2021)
Atrocity crimes—including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity—continue to rage around the world, from Syria and South Sudan to Iraq and Myanmar. This course examines origins, operations, and outcomes of historical and contemporary international justice measures to address such heinous offenses. We will consider the full range of judicial, legislative, and executive justice mechanisms available to policymakers as societies emerge from periods of violence and repression. These mechanisms include war crimes tribunals (such as the International Criminal Court), truth commissions, amnesties, lustration, exile, indefinite detention, lethal force, and inaction. The course draws on various case studies, including present-day Syria and Iraq, Rwanda and the Balkans in the 1990s, and World War II. Readings address the legal, political, and philosophical underpinnings of justice; questions of institutional design; and how different societies have balanced competing legal, policy, and moral imperatives.
7397 WRS: International Environmental Law - FLATT (offered in Spring 2020)
This course studies International Environmental Law as it has developed from the early 20th Century, with an extended emphasis on Climate Change, which now occupies much of the field.
7397 WRS: Making Multiracial Democracy - MORALES (offered in Fall 2021)
Some have said that American democracy is only fifty years old. What they mean is that American multiracial democracy—where nonwhites have some power at the ballot box, and enjoy a significant degree of inclusion in economic and educational opportunity—began in the decades after the passage of the Civil and Voting Rights Acts of 1964. The Trump years, the Insurrection of January 6, and its aftermath, have revealed the precarity of minority political gains, and the lengths to which opponents of multiracial democracy will go to destroy them. In this class we will ask how we arrived at this fateful moment in American history and examine the integral role the law and lawyers have played in the creation of multiracial democracy and its undoing. We will also look to the future and ask what it will take to shore up the fragile institutions that hold our country together. Readings will draw broadly from Constitutional and Administrative Law, Political Theory, Critical Race Theory, American History, especially the history of slavery and reconstruction, as well Immigration history and law.
7297 WRS: Origins of the Federal Constitution - ESKRIDGE/PETERSON (offered in Spring 2020)
Origins of the Federal Constitution presents an intensive introduction to the historical sources of the Constitution. By reference to original source documents, the class considers the common law and other influences on early American government and justice, such as Locke, Montesquieu, and Blackstone’s Commentaries; the colonial experience leading to and immediately following the American Revolution; documents and debate directly relevant to formation of individual constitutional provisions and amendments; and the initial experience and understanding of the Constitution, through to Story’s Commentaries, in addition to later amendments. The class will also consider the influence and use of this material on modern interpretation of the Constitution.
7397 WRS: Renewable Energy Law - WARREN (offered in Fall 2021)
This writing seminar will provide a broad overview of U.S. renewable energy law and policy. It reviews existing renewable energy technologies and resources, discusses the practical limitations involved in their development, siting, and integration into the U.S. electricity grid, and analyzes the legal and regulatory framework for renewable energy development, the climate, and the environment. The course is graded based on class preparation and participation and the writing of a 35-page seminar paper.
7397 WRS: Shameful/Ignored Supreme Court Cases - CHANDLER (offered in Fall 2019)
This writing seminar will examine the so-called anti-canon, the constitutional law cases that most people regard as horrible errors. Obvious candidates include Dred Scott v. Sanford, Lochner v. New York, Buck v. Bell, Korematsu v. United States, and others. It will also study Constitutional law cases of considerable importance but that are usually outside the mainstream of first year constitutional law classes (the sub-canon). Cases involving treatment of Native Americans, territories and immigrants will feature prominently here. With respect to the anti-canon, our study and student papers will focus on not only what, if anything, is wrong with at least some of these decisions, but also how and why the decisions went “awry," be it excessive politicization of the court, undue influence by outside forces, cognitive failings on the part of the justices, poor advocacy, a proclivity to decide extraneous issues, unfortunate decisions by the drafters of the Constitution, or other factors. It will, in some sense, be like an FAA examination of an airplane crash, looking for both immediate and systematic causes of a disaster. We will also explore what other cases might, at some future time, be added to the anti-canon. With respect to the sub-canon, we will explore the content of these cases and the reasons, good or bad, why they might fly beneath the radar. Students will be expected to read opinions, historical materials and subsequent writings concerning cases in the anti-canon and sub-canon.
7397 WRS: Texas v. United States - BERMAN/RAVE (offered in Spring 2019)
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the state’s impact on Constitutional Law. Seminal decisions originating in Texas have shaped every area of constitutional doctrine from abortion to voting rights. This class will explore the role that the state of Texas and localities within Texas have played in instigating constitutional change in our federal system. It will engage in in-depth analysis of landmark Supreme Court cases that came out of Texas, including inquiries into how the case developed, why the Supreme Court granted certiorari, and the impact of the eventual decision on Texas and the nation.
7397 WRS: Texas v. United States - BERMAN/RAVE (offered in Spring 2021)
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the state’s impact on Constitutional Law. Seminal decisions originating in Texas have shaped every area of constitutional doctrine from abortion to voting rights. This class will explore the role that the state of Texas and localities within Texas have played in instigating constitutional change in our federal system. It will engage in in-depth analysis of landmark Supreme Court cases that came out of Texas, including inquiries into how the case developed, why the Supreme Court granted certiorari, and the impact of the eventual decision on Texas and the nation.
