5297 Administration of Estates and Guardianship - AKERS (offered in Spring 2013)
Administration of Estates and Guardianships. A skills class that will cover all types of administrations encountered with decedent’s and incapacitated estates: Dependent Administrations, Independent Administrations, Probating wills, alternative to probate administrations, Intestacy and guardianships. Students will review and be exposed to defective wills as well as proper wills and learn how to get them admitted into probate in addition to reviewing a variety of estate administration pleadings. Students will draft a will and prepare the pleadings to get the will admitted into probate as part of their examination grade.
5297 Administration of Estates and Guardianship - AKERS (offered in Spring 2014)
Administration of Estates and Guardianships. A skills class that will cover all types of administrations encountered with decedent’s and incapacitated estates: Dependent Administrations, Independent Administrations, Probating wills, alternative to probate administrations, Intestacy and guardianships. Students will review and be exposed to defective wills as well as proper wills and learn how to get them admitted into probate in addition to reviewing a variety of estate administration pleadings. Students will draft a will and prepare the pleadings to get the will admitted into probate as part of their examination grade.
5297 Advanced Legal Research & Writing for FLLM - TILTON-McCARTHY (offered in Spring 2014)
Advanced Legal Research and Writing for FLLM Students
This course is designed to build on concepts taught in Lawyering Strategy Skills for FLLM students and provide the students with an opportunity to further hone their research and writing skills (with constructive feedback) as well as to learn new techniques to deal with more complicated legal issues. Advanced research skills will be taught, and the students will be expected to draft a memorandum covering more complex legal issues. In addition, students will negotiate a multifaceted transaction and draft the resulting contract. Students will also learn to draft a settlement agreement, a will and/or a client opinion letter. Lastly, students will be taught persuasive writing skills and will draft a trial motion or short appellate brief.
5397 Advanced Maritime Law - WINTON (offered in Spring 2014)
The advanced general maritime law course will focus on maritime jurisdiction—federal and state, maritime contracts, maritime torts, maritime liens, collisions, cargo claims, ship claims for damage caused by cargo, marine insurance, Protection and Indemnity Clubs, limitation of liability, general average, salvage, classification societies, jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard and other aspects of maritime law. This course will not address injury or death claims by or on behalf of seaman, longshore or harbor workers, or other mariners or non-mariners, all of which are the subjects of their own advanced maritime law course. The basic general maritime law course is NOT a pre-requisite to be eligible to take this course. There will be a single exam given at the end of the semester which will be a closed book exam composed of essays and, perhaps, short answer questions
5297 Advanced Topics in Software Protection - FRANCO (offered in Spring 2012)
The course grade will be based on a single final examination; its format will include short answer questions and one longer essay question.
5397 Advertising and Marketing Law - Van Slyke (offered in Spring 2013)
Advertising and Marketing Law teaches both the law and commercial perspectives concerning the advertising and marketing to consumers in a survey format that includes treatment of issues from false advertising under the Lanham Act, Federal Trade Commission regulation and enforcement, state attorney general enforcement, consumer class actions, substantiation of advertising claims, Internet advertising, consumer protection, privacy, data protection, trademark law, business torts, constitutional law, copyright law, social media marketing, and several other areas of law that are important to advertising and marketing to consumers.
5397 Advertising and Marketing Law - TBA (offered in Spring 2015)
Advertising and Marketing Law teaches both the law and commercial perspectives concerning the advertising and marketing to consumers in a survey format that includes treatment of issues from false advertising under the Lanham Act, Federal Trade Commission regulation and enforcement, state attorney general enforcement, consumer class actions, substantiation of advertising claims, Internet advertising, consumer protection, privacy, data protection, trademark law, business torts, constitutional law, copyright law, social media marketing, and several other areas of law that are important to advertising and marketing to consumers.
5397 Advocacy Survey - LAWRENCE (offered in Spring 2012)
This unique course is designed to provide students the opportunity to experience a wide spectrum of legal advocacy. Course segments include Pre-Trial Litigation, Trial Advocacy, Appellate Advocacy, Negotiation, Mediation, and Arbitration. Each course segment contains a brief overview of 1) the legal underpinnings for each topic area and, 2) the skills necessary to be an effective advocate in that topic area.
5197 Advocates-Newhouse Mediation - LAWRENCE (offered in Spring 2012)
5197 Advocates-Newhouse Mediation - LAWRENCE (offered in Fall 2012)
5197 Advocates-Newhouse Mediation-CURRENT - LAWRENCE (offered in Spring 2013)
5197 Advocates-Newhouse Mediation-RETRO - LAWRENCE (offered in Spring 2013)
5397 Banned Books - DOW (offered in Spring 2015)
5397 Basic Construction Law - WESTCOTT/D'CRUZ (offered in Fall 2012)
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. This will include an examination of the parties’ duties and obligations arising out of their agreements, governing documents, statutory law and common law. Particular attention will be paid to project delivery systems, the key vertical and horizontal relationships among the participants in the major project delivery systems, the key and controlling documents and agreements among the participants, including construction and design agreements, project specific issues, the design undertaking, subcontracting and vendor issues, common problems during the construction process giving rise to disputes and claims, mechanics’ liens and payment issues and dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration.
5197 Children and the Law Lab - MARRUS (offered in Spring 2014)
In this course students will have the opportunity to represent children in abuse and neglect proceedings in a Harris County court.
5297 Client Interviewing & Counseling - HAWK (offered in Spring 2014)
The Client Interviewing and Counseling course will emphasize a “client-centered” approach to interviewing and counseling techniques. The course will touch on the major aspects of the attorney-client relationship, including (1) the initial client interview; (2) billing arrangements; (3) case analysis, development and strategy incorporating the client’s input and expectations; (4) preparing the client for negotiations, depositions, settlement discussions or trial; (5) terminating the attorney-client relationship; and (6) collecting fees. Students will engage in mock interviews and counseling sessions throughout the semester. The professor and classmates will provide constructive feedback after each session that can and should be incorporated into future practice sessions.
5297 Client Interviewing & Counseling - WELCH (offered in Spring 2013)
The legal interviewing and counseling course will emphasize a deliberate practice approach to learning. Each week the professor will provide instruction on client-centered interviewing and counseling techniques and then students will engage in mock interviews and counseling sessions with their classmates. The professor and classmates will give feedback on these mock sessions and the student will reflect upon the experience and try again.
This semester the class will be taught online. Class size will be limited to eight (8) students and will meet in a Google+ Hangout each week. This setting provides students with the convenience of being able to attend class wherever there is a good wifi connection. It also allows for interesting and engaging exchanges between classmates and professor with video sharing, document and screen sharing and other exciting new age teaching tools.
Students who enroll must have (1) a laptop or computer they can use to access the internet; (2) a webcam; (3) a headset with microphone (about $15) OR ear buds and a microphone on their laptop or webcam; and (4) the required textbook. Students who enroll must also have a Gmail account they can use to access Google+ Hangouts. The program is easy to use even for beginners to the online platform.
5397 Client Interviewing & Counseling - WILLIS (offered in Spring 2012)
Analytical and practical examination of the attorney-client relationship, including establishing the relationship in the initial interview; billing arrangements; the importance of continuing communications; case analysis; decision-making; counseling with the client as to case development and strategy; preparation of the client for settlement negotiations as well as trial; termination of the relationship, including the collection of fees. Students will conduct several mock interviews throughout the course.
5397 Climate Change Law - HESTER (offered in Spring 2012)
The enormous challenges posed by global climate change have triggered equally fundamental legal changes. Climate change law has grown into one of the most active fields of environmental law which affects major industries, civil and criminal enforcement, transactions and international relations. Climate change lawsuits will also play their own central role in disputes over the right course of action and in efforts to help injured parties adapt to a rapidly changing world.
This course will focus on the foundations, options and challenges to the use of environmental law to address climate change and to determine the obligations or liability of parties allegedly contributing it. We will review the current state of knowledge about the science underlying climate change findings and predictions, examine how environmental and tort laws have adapted to address earlier novel environmental threats and risks, explore the fast-growing network of international agreements, federal regulations and state laws that govern emissions of greenhouse gases or attempt to prepare for climate change effects, and assess how courts have responded to climate lawsuits and their specific legal challenges and evidentiary. Our examination will center on a practical examination on how this new field of law will affect real-world legal policies, permitting, lawsuits and transactions.
This class will use a combination of lectures, discussions, in-class exercises, sample problems and case studies. Of course, all students should come to class prepared and able to join in class discussions.
5397 Climate Change Law - HESTER (offered in Fall 2013)
The enormous challenges posed by global climate change have triggered equally fundamental legal changes. Climate change law has grown into one of the most active fields of environmental law which affects major industries, civil and criminal enforcement, transactions and international relations. Climate change lawsuits will also play their own central role in disputes over the right course of action and in efforts to help injured parties adapt to a rapidly changing world.
This course will focus on the foundations, options and challenges to the use of environmental law to address climate change and to determine the obligations or liability of parties allegedly contributing it. We will review the current state of knowledge about the science underlying climate change findings and predictions, examine how environmental and tort laws have adapted to address earlier novel environmental threats and risks, explore the fast-growing network of international agreements, federal regulations and state laws that govern emissions of greenhouse gases or attempt to prepare for climate change effects, and assess how courts have responded to climate lawsuits and their specific legal challenges and evidentiary. Our examination will center on a practical examination on how this new field of law will affect real-world legal policies, permitting, lawsuits and transactions.
This class will use a combination of lectures, discussions, in-class exercises, sample problems and case studies. Of course, all students should come to class prepared and able to join in class discussions.
5297 Clinic Externship I - BONADERO (offered in Summer II 2014)
Well in advance of the semester during which they want to work, students should secure their own field placements at either a nonprofit organization or a government agency. A list of preapproved placements is located on the Externship Program’s webpage. If the placement where a student wishes to work for credit is not on the approved list, s/he must seek approval from the Externship Director before accepting a position at that placement. (Students working at law firms, even on a volunteer basis, cannot receive credit under ABA accreditation regulations.)
Once a student secures a position, s/he must apply to the Externship Program at www.law.uh.edu/clinic. Students should not attempt to enroll themselves in these courses via PeopleSoft: if you’re approved, the Externship Director will enroll you via the Office of Student Services.
Any JD student doing his/her first-ever externship for credit is required to attend an on-campus orientation. The date/time of the orientation is TBD. Students are responsible for reading the Daily LEX consistently to keep up with this information as it becomes available.
Students will be required to work at their placements for 60 hours to earn each hour of academic credit.
5297 Clinic Externship I - BONADERO (offered in Summer IV 2014)
Well in advance of the semester during which they want to work, students should secure their own field placements at either a nonprofit organization or a government agency. A list of preapproved placements is located on the Externship Program’s webpage. If the placement where a student wishes to work for credit is not on the approved list, s/he must seek approval from the Externship Director before accepting a position at that placement. (Students working at law firms, even on a volunteer basis, cannot receive credit under ABA accreditation regulations.)
Once a student secures a position, s/he must apply to the Externship Program at www.law.uh.edu/clinic. Students should not attempt to enroll themselves in these courses via PeopleSoft: if you’re approved, the Externship Director will enroll you via the Office of Student Services.
Any JD student doing his/her first-ever externship for credit is required to attend an on-campus orientation. The date/time of the orientation is TBD. Students are responsible for reading the Daily LEX consistently to keep up with this information as it becomes available.
Students will be required to work at their placements for 60 hours to earn each hour of academic credit.
5297 Clinic Externship II - BONADERO (offered in Summer IV 2014)
Well in advance of the semester in which they want to work, students should secure their field placements at either a nonprofit organization or government agency. A list of preapproved placements is located on the Externship Program’s webpage. If the placement which a student wishes to work for credit is NOT on the list, s/he must seek approval from the Externship Director before accepting an position at that placement. (Students working at law firms, even on a volunteer basis, cannot receive credit under ABA accreditations regulations.)
Once a student secures a position, s/he must apply to the program at www.law.uh.edu/clnic. Students should not attempt to enroll themselves in the course via PeopleSoft. If you’re approved, the Externship Director will enroll you via the Student Services Office.
Students taking an Externship II course have necessarily already completed Externship I; consequently, s/he does not need to attend an orientation prior to starting work. However, Externship II students must still comply with all other externship requirements (time logs, journal entries, completion of evaluations, and possibly a face-to-face meeting with the ED.)
Requires student to work at placement for a minimum of 180 hours over the semester
5297 Clinic Externship II - BONADERO (offered in Summer II 2014)
Well in advance of the semester in which they want to work, students should secure their field placements at either a nonprofit organization or government agency. A list of preapproved placements is located on the Externship Program’s webpage. If the placement which a student wishes to work for credit is NOT on the list, s/he must seek approval from the Externship Director before accepting an position at that placement. (Students working at law firms, even on a volunteer basis, cannot receive credit under ABA accreditations regulations.)
Once a student secures a position, s/he must apply to the program at www.law.uh.edu/clnic. Students should not attempt to enroll themselves in the course via PeopleSoft. If you’re approved, the Externship Director will enroll you via the Student Services Office.
Students taking an Externship II course have necessarily already completed Externship I; consequently, s/he does not need to attend an orientation prior to starting work. However, Externship II students must still comply with all other externship requirements (time logs, journal entries, completion of evaluations, and possibly a face-to-face meeting with the ED.)
Requires student to work at placement for a minimum of 180 hours over the semester
5397 Complex Litigation - RAVE (offered in Fall 2014)
This course picks up where civil procedure left off and covers the major procedural issues that arise in complex civil litigation. We will focus primarily on multi-party, multi-jurisdictional disputes, with particular emphasis on topics such as class actions, multidistrict litigation (MDL) practice, and other methods of aggregating claims. We will consider the kinds of strategic choices available to lawyers handling complex cases, economic and practical problems of settlement, the role of judges in supervising and managing aggregate litigation, and other modifications to the traditional rules of procedure intended for single-party, single-claim disputes.
5397 Complex Litigation - RAVE (offered in Fall 2013)
This course picks up where civil procedure left off and covers the major procedural issues that arise in complex civil litigation. We will focus primarily on multi-party, multi-jurisdictional disputes, with particular emphasis on topics such as class actions, multidistrict litigation (MDL) practice, and other methods of aggregating claims. We will consider the kinds of strategic choices available to lawyers handling complex cases, economic and practical problems of settlement, the role of judges in supervising and managing aggregate litigation, and other modifications to the traditional rules of procedure intended for single-party, single-claim disputes.
5397 Complex Litigation - GIDI (offered in Spring 2012)
Class actions are the most controversial of all procedural devices. After studying the technical issues (prerequisites, certification, notice, opt out, settlement, res judicata) and its specific applications (consumer, antitrust, security, discrimination, mass tort) in concrete cases (tobacco, asbestos, Wal-Mart), we will be able to better understand the political and social implications behind class actions. Although class actions may bring social change and right injustices, it may arguably also be improperly used to harass and blackmail defendants into settling non meritorious claims. The course also deals with non-class aggregation, like joinder, impleader, interpleader, intervention, consolidation, transfers, and bankruptcy. It is also an excellent opportunity to review Civil Procedure concepts.
5397 Computational Law - CHANDLER (offered in Spring 2012)
This course examines ways in which computation can be used to aid the study of legal issues. Topics studied include statistics, finance, actuarial finance, decision theory, game theory, computational linguistics, network theory, data mining, optimization, and complexity theory. Students will be responsible for creating a project illustrating the use of one or more of these techniques in analyzing a problem relevant to law. Use of the Mathematica programming language and creation of "Demonstrations" or CDF format documents will be strongly encouraged. Prerequisite: Analytic Methods for Lawyers or instructor's permission.
5297 Computer Crime - CHICHESTER (offered in Summer II 2013)
The objectives of this course are to teach the substantive and procedural law of computer crimes and computer torts in a comprehensive manner, to consider the ethical and professional questions related to the subject matter, and to integrate the subject matter with the analytical and practical skills necessary to the practice of law. This class will emphasize the federal criminal laws, particularly the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, but will touch upon relevant state anti-spyware laws as well. Other topics include crimes related to corporate espionage, hacking, and misappropriation/infringement of intellectual property rights that involve a computer or a network.
7397 Confronting the Resource Curse: Oil in Africa - KLIEMAN (offered in Fall 2012)
This course will introduce students to the history, theory, and reality of the “Natural Resource Curse” as it relates to the petroleum industry in Africa. It will be co-taught by Dr. Kairn A. Klieman (Assoc. Prof. of African History, UH, currently writing a book on the history of oil in Africa), and Mr. Thomas Mitro, a retired oil executive who worked 32 years as a senior financial and commercial manager with Gulf Oil and Chevron in Nigeria, Angola, UK, Papua New Guinea). Mr. Mitro currently serves as consultant to Sonangol, and is co-founder of the award-winning non-profit Indego Africa (http://www.indegoafrica.org/awards-and-recognition).
5297 Copyright Law - JOYCE (offered in Summer II 2014)
This is the basic Copyright course, but in a 2-credit format. Topics include prerequisites for protection, subject matter, ownership, duration, infringement (including secondary liability), affirmative defenses (including fair use), and federal remedies
5297 Criminal Practice - McCONNELL/BRALEY/GALLAGHER (offered in Summer II 2014)
This is a federal criminal trial practice skills class. Skill sets include opening statement, direct examination, cross-examination, impeachment, handling exhibits and demonstrative aids, evidentiary foundations, motion practice, objections, and closing argument.
The class is based on a trial problem that sets forth a hypothetical criminal case. Students are expected to analyze the case, develop prosecution and defense strategies, understand rules of evidence and procedure applicable to federal criminal trials, and either prosecute or defend the case to verdict. The professors will divide each class into a lecture session and skills portion. Students must participate during each session. Final grade will be based, at least in part, upon application of principles discussed during the course and moot trial held before a federal judge at course end. Professors will provide feedback and guidance throughout the process. Attendance and participation will also factor into grading as described in the syllabus.
5297 Criminal Practice - McCONNELL/BRALEY/GALLAGHER (offered in Spring 2015)
This is a federal criminal trial practice skills class. Skill sets include opening statement, direct examination, cross-examination, impeachment, handling exhibits and demonstrative aids, evidentiary foundations, motion practice, objections, and closing argument.
The class is based on a trial problem that sets forth a hypothetical criminal case. Students are expected to analyze the case, develop prosecution and defense strategies, understand rules of evidence and procedure applicable to federal criminal trials, and either prosecute or defend the case to verdict. The professors will divide each class into a lecture session and skills portion. Students must participate during each session. Final grade will be based, at least in part, upon application of principles discussed during the course and moot trial held before a federal judge at course end. Professors will provide feedback and guidance throughout the process. Attendance and participation will also factor into grading as described in the syllabus.
5397 Crimmigration - HOFFMAN G (offered in Summer IV 2014)
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.
5497 Death Penalty Clinic - JEU/DOW (offered in Summer I 2012)
Death Penalty Clinic explores the substantive law, investigative techniques, and post-conviction appellate remedies applicable in capital (death penalty) cases. Lectures will cover topics such as: Texas criminal statutes, state/federal habeas law, clemency proceedings, investigative techniques, and capital trial strategy. In addition to attending lectures, students work on actual cases. Students investigate claims related to the guilt-innocence and punishment phases of capital murder trials and assist attorneys in investigating and researching legal claims.
Although the same substantive material is covered in both Innocence Investigations and Death Penalty Clinic, the classes differ in terms of the type of case work performed by students. Death Penalty Clinic students work solely on cases where a criminal defendant has been convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. In many of these cases, the defendant has a pending execution date. Consequently, it is important that Death Penalty Students be able to adhere to deadlines set by the course instructor.
5297 Doing Business in the Arab Middle East - BOEHM (offered in Spring 2013)
Doing Business in the Arab Middle East. This course will cover legal and practical aspects of advising clients on doing business in the Middle East. You will learns specifics about some jurisdictions, how to work with local counsel, and considerations for lawyers (you?) working there. This course is also a tool box for your future. Your practice will be cross-border, sooner or later, and these tools are relevant in all "foreign" jurisdictions. Multiple choice exam.
5397 Domestic Violence - HAMILTON (offered in Spring 2013)
Examines historical and contemporary perspectives on domestic violence, including interdisciplinary explanations for abuse; various types of abuse, such as physical, sexual/reproductive, and psychological; law enforcement and prosecutorial responses; availability of social services; relevant crimes and defenses and corresponding evidentiary challenges; and family law issues.
5297 Drafting & Negotiating Int'l Oil & Gas Agreements - Norman Nadorff (offered in Spring 2012)
The course refreshes the students´ knowledge of certain major types of international oil and gas agreements and provides practical, hands-on experience in their drafting and negotiation. Students are provided a detailed and realistic fact pattern mimicking a real-life oil and gas transaction showing how oil and gas deals are conceived of, proposed and eventually formalized. The remainder of the class is built around this fact pattern which is applied to the various types of oil and gas agreements. The course contains the following major components:
· A discussion of the role of the contract drafters and negotiators in the oil and gas industry
· Practical tips on how to write contracts more clearly and effectively as well as pointing out pitfalls to be avoided.
· Strategies and "do´s and dont´s" in contract negotiations.
· A thorough discussion of pre-contractual documents (letters of intent, memoranda of association, etc), including in-class review of a homework assignment.
· An introduction to the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) and the AIPN Model Form Contracts.
· In class, on-screen editing by the students of key AIPN Model Form Agreements (most likely: Confidentiality, Joint Study and Bidding, Farmout, Joint Operating Agreement, Unitization, Lifting, International Consultant and Oil Service).
· In-class negotiations of various AIPN Model Form Agreements based on the supplied fact pattern, and eventually involving all of the
It is anticipated that for all or a majority of the classes, the lecturer will invite a prominent Houston-based lawyer or negotiator, specialized in the particular agreement being drafted/negotiated that day, in order to provide additional perspective and help facilitate the in-class exercises.
5297 Drafting & Negotiating Int'l Oil & Gas Agreements - Norman Nadorff (offered in Spring 2013)
The course will enhance the students´ knowledge of major types of international oil and gas agreements while providing practical, hands-on experience in their drafting and negotiation. Students will be provided a detailed and realistic fact pattern showing how oil and gas deals are conceived of, proposed, negotiated and eventually formalized. The students will then apply the fact pattern to various types of oil and gas model agreements. In essence, Professor Nadorff will show the students how an international oil and gas lawyer approaches every day oil and gas industry challenges.
The course contains the following major components:
• A discussion of the role of the contract drafters and negotiators in the oil and gas industry
• Practical tips on how to write contracts more clearly and effectively as well as identifying pitfalls to be avoided.
• Contract strategies and "do´s and dont´s" in contract negotiations.
• A thorough discussion of pre-contractual documents (letters of intent, memoranda of association, etc), including na in-class review of a homework assignment.
• An introduction to the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) and the AIPN Model Form Contracts.
• In class, on-screen editing by the students of key AIPN Model Form Agreements (most likely: Confidentiality, Joint Study and Bidding, Farmout, Joint Operating Agreement, Lifting, International Consultant and Oil Service).
• In-class negotiations of various AIPN Model Form Agreements based on the supplied fact pattern, ideally involving all of the students at some point.
It is anticipated that for each class, Professor Nadorff will invite a prominent lawyer or negotiator, specialized in the particular agreement being discussed that day, in order to provide additional perspective and to help facilitate the in-class exercises.
5297 Drafting & Negotiating Int'l Oil & Gas Agreements - Norman Nadorff (offered in Spring 2014)
The course will enhance the students´ knowledge of major types of international oil and gas agreements while providing practical, hands-on experience in their drafting and negotiation. Students will be provided a detailed and realistic fact pattern showing how oil and gas deals are conceived of, proposed, negotiated and eventually formalized. The students will then apply the fact pattern to various types of oil and gas model agreements. In essence, Professor Nadorff will show the students how an international oil and gas lawyer approaches every day oil and gas industry challenges.
The course contains the following major components:
• A discussion of the role of the contract drafters and negotiators in the oil and gas industry
• Practical tips on how to write contracts more clearly and effectively as well as identifying pitfalls to be avoided.
• Contract strategies and "do´s and dont´s" in contract negotiations.
• A thorough discussion of pre-contractual documents (letters of intent, memoranda of association, etc), including na in-class review of a homework assignment.
• An introduction to the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) and the AIPN Model Form Contracts.
• In class, on-screen editing by the students of key AIPN Model Form Agreements (most likely: Confidentiality, Joint Study and Bidding, Farmout, Joint Operating Agreement, Lifting, International Consultant and Oil Service).
• In-class negotiations of various AIPN Model Form Agreements based on the supplied fact pattern, ideally involving all of the students at some point.
It is anticipated that for each class, Professor Nadorff will invite a prominent lawyer or negotiator, specialized in the particular agreement being discussed that day, in order to provide additional perspective and to help facilitate the in-class exercises.
5297 Drafting & Negotiating Int'l Oil & Gas Agreements - Norman Nadorff (offered in Spring 2015)
The course will enhance the students´ knowledge of major types of international oil and gas agreements while providing practical, hands-on experience in their drafting and negotiation. Students will be provided a detailed and realistic fact pattern showing how oil and gas deals are conceived of, proposed, negotiated and eventually formalized. The students will then apply the fact pattern to various types of oil and gas model agreements. In essence, Professor Nadorff will show the students how an international oil and gas lawyer approaches every day oil and gas industry challenges.
The course contains the following major components:
• A discussion of the role of the contract drafters and negotiators in the oil and gas industry
• Practical tips on how to write contracts more clearly and effectively as well as identifying pitfalls to be avoided.
• Contract strategies and "do´s and dont´s" in contract negotiations.
• A thorough discussion of pre-contractual documents (letters of intent, memoranda of association, etc), including na in-class review of a homework assignment.
• An introduction to the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) and the AIPN Model Form Contracts.
• In class, on-screen editing by the students of key AIPN Model Form Agreements (most likely: Confidentiality, Joint Study and Bidding, Farmout, Joint Operating Agreement, Lifting, International Consultant and Oil Service).
• In-class negotiations of various AIPN Model Form Agreements based on the supplied fact pattern, ideally involving all of the students at some point.
It is anticipated that for each class, Professor Nadorff will invite a prominent lawyer or negotiator, specialized in the particular agreement being discussed that day, in order to provide additional perspective and to help facilitate the in-class exercises.
5297 E-Discovery - CHAUMETTE (offered in Summer II 2014)
The increased presence of technology in the workplace has also required significant changes in the way litigation, and specifically discovery, is handled. Adapting to these changes, litigants face an ever-changing arena referred to as electronic discovery, which can be a veritable treasure trove or minefield depending on the level of preparation taken by the client and the client’s counsel prior to the arrival of any legal dispute.
This course will outline the major issues and considerations for lawyers involved in the electronic discovery process and prepare the students to face these challenges in their practice.
5297 Elder Law - LOOTENS (offered in Spring 2012)
This course is an introduction to the myriad of legal issues that are often grouped under various titles such as Elder Law, Aging and the Law, or Elderly and the Law. The course will highlight the social and legal issues associated with an aging society, a critical understanding of the distinct legal problems of the elderly and a familiarity with governmental programs aimed at older people.
5397 Elections and the Law of Democracy - RAVE (offered in Fall 2014)
This course covers the law that structures democratic politics and the processes of democracy, with a primary focus on constitutional law and election law. Subjects covered include the individual right to vote and participate; redistricting; campaign finance regulation and reform; resolution of disputed elections; the role of groups and associations such as political parties in democratic politics; the tension between majorities and minorities in the design of representative institutions; and the role of courts in overseeing democratic processes. The course will focus primarily on American law and doctrine. The course will include a good deal of material about contemporary legal issues in this area, including issues from the 2012 presidential election and the Supreme Court's recent decision about the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, and similar current issues.
5397 Endangered Species and Biodiversity Law - IRVINE (offered in Fall 2012)
5297 Energy and the Environment - LANDERS (offered in Spring 2013)
An environmental law course that will explore pivotal issues involving the synergistic relationship between energy law and environmental law. The course will examine several critical topics of global importance associated with various sources of energy and the impact on natural resources and the environment.
5297 Energy and the Environment - LANDERS (offered in Spring 2015)
An environmental law course that will explore pivotal issues involving the synergistic relationship between energy law and environmental law. The course will examine several critical topics of global importance associated with various sources of energy and the impact on natural resources and the environment.
5397 Entrepreneurship & Medical Malpractice - Brown/McIver (offered in Spring 2012)
For students considering starting their own law practice, this course will cover, through the case study of a new medical malpractice law firm, the decisions and practical steps that a law firm founder must make to launch his / her own law practice. Grades based on class participation, two quizzes, and a written final exam.
5397 Entrepreneurship and legal ethics--Starting a law firm - Brown/McIver (offered in Spring 2013)
For students considering starting their own law practice, this course will cover, through the case study of a new medical malpractice law firm, the decisions and practical steps that a law firm founder must make to launch his / her own law practice. Grades based on class participation, two quizzes, and a written final exam.
5297 Environmental Issues in Real Estate - SHERMAN (offered in Fall 2014)
This course will address the legal, business, and financial challenges posed by environmental issues in real estate projects. From brownfield transactions and wetlands impacts to Class B/C office buildings and urban redevelopment projects to green building requirements and sustainable corporate campuses, environmental considerations play a key role in today’s real estate marketplace.
These topics, for the purposes of course presentation, will be analyzed in three sections: "Environmental Issues in Building Operations and Property Management", "Environmental Issues in Real Estate Transactions" and “Environmental Issues in Real Estate Development”. Each course segment will introduce students to a substantive evaluation of the core environmental issues presented and offer insights into the purchase agreements, financial analyses, and deal structures utilized by real estate professionals to manage these matters.
During the course of the semester, students will be given two short, practical writing assignments related to the subject matter (e.g., preparing a submission to a regulatory agency/legislative committee and drafting an advocacy piece relating to project approval). The final assignment will be the preparation of a memorandum analyzing the environmental issues in a real estate project and making a recommendation on whether - and if so, how - to proceed with the project notwithstanding the environmental challenges presented. The final project should be approximately 15 pages. The instructor will work closely with each student on their work. Grades are based on written work during the semester. There is no final examination.
Completion of the course will position students to identify the environmental issues presented in any given real estate scenario, to evaluate their potential impact on projects, and to manage the challenges presented. Additionally, students should gain an understanding of the impacts of property conditions on human health and natural resources, the response of government regulators and investors to these threats, and the options available to real estate professionals for assessing and managing the environmental conditions affecting their projects.
Outline
5297 Environmental Law in Oil & Gas Production and Refining - BORTKA (offered in Fall 2013)
Protection of the environment is not a “money making” proposition for the oil and gas industry. A good environmental record may gain a company better public relations versus its “messier” peers and be a selling point to foreign governments in attempts to gain exploration concessions or locate refineries and chemical plants on foreign shores. Nonetheless, every dollar spent on environmental protection or remediation reduces corporate profits by the same amount.
According to many, the oil industry enjoys “sweeping exemptions” from provisions in major federal environmental statutes intended to protect human health and the environment. Truly, some oil industry wastes, substances, and activities are far less regulated than those from other industries. This less-regulated environment exists even though public perception of the oil industry consistently ranks as the poorest-viewed industry surveyed.
When land and water are contaminated by the industry, and statutory remedies are available, aggrieved parties often turn to common law civil courts for monetary “damages” instead of seeking redress through (a) governmental regulatory bodies or (b) citizen suit provisions of the environmental laws. When courts award money damages against oil companies for environmental contamination often the damage awards are not used for environmental remediation.
So… what’s the deal? Is the oil industry really treated “differently” when it comes to the environment and, if so, why? If the general public has such a nasty opinion of the oil industry, why aren’t environmental laws a lot tougher on the industry than they are? Is that situation going to change? Why don’t oil and gas companies and state legislatures work to ensure that monetary damage awards are used to clean up environmental problems?
This class explores these questions and issues from the viewpoints of
1. the landowners directly impacted by oil-field contamination,
2. the oil and gas companies,
3. the regulatory agencies and legislatures charged with protecting the environment and the general public, and
4. non-governmental organizations who work for protection of the environment.
In some cases, state common law has evolved in the last fifteen years to fill gaps left by statutes and regulations. Unfortunately, the common law is going in many “different directions”. Identical contamination fact-patterns in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, for example, would lead to three distinctly different outcomes in the courts. The class will explore the relationships among the relevant environmental statutes, regulations, and common law and strive to make sense of this tangled web of jurisprudence as it applies to the oil and gas industry. It’s a fun journey for those interested in attacking, defending, or overhauling the industry’s environmental position.
There is an average amount of reading required for the course with probably ten, or fewer, partial case readings required depending on the pace of the class.
Course Outline (pdf)
5297 Environmental Law in Oil & Gas Production and Refining - BORTKA (offered in Fall 2012)
Protection of the environment is not a “money making” proposition for the oil and gas industry. A good environmental record may gain a company better public relations versus its “messier” peers and be a selling point to foreign governments in attempts to gain exploration concessions or locate refineries and chemical plants on foreign shores. Nonetheless, every dollar spent on environmental protection or remediation reduces corporate profits by the same amount.
According to many, the oil industry enjoys “sweeping exemptions” from provisions in major federal environmental statutes intended to protect human health and the environment. Truly, some oil industry wastes, substances, and activities are far less regulated than those from other industries. This less-regulated environment exists even though public perception of the oil industry consistently ranks as the poorest-viewed industry surveyed.
When land and water are contaminated by the industry, and statutory remedies are available, aggrieved parties often turn to common law civil courts for monetary “damages” instead of seeking redress through (a) governmental regulatory bodies or (b) citizen suit provisions of the environmental laws. When courts award money damages against oil companies for environmental contamination often the damage awards are not used for environmental remediation.
So… what’s the deal? Is the oil industry really treated “differently” when it comes to the environment and, if so, why? If the general public has such a nasty opinion of the oil industry, why aren’t environmental laws a lot tougher on the industry than they are? Is that situation going to change? Why don’t oil and gas companies and state legislatures work to ensure that monetary damage awards are used to clean up environmental problems?
This class explores these questions and issues from the viewpoints of
1. the landowners directly impacted by oil-field contamination,
2. the oil and gas companies,
3. the regulatory agencies and legislatures charged with protecting the environment and the general public, and
4. non-governmental organizations who work for protection of the environment.
In some cases, state common law has evolved in the last fifteen years to fill gaps left by statutes and regulations. Unfortunately, the common law is going in many “different directions”. Identical contamination fact-patterns in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, for example, would lead to three distinctly different outcomes in the courts. The class will explore the relationships among the relevant environmental statutes, regulations, and common law and strive to make sense of this tangled web of jurisprudence as it applies to the oil and gas industry. It’s a fun journey for those interested in attacking, defending, or overhauling the industry’s environmental position.
There is an average amount of reading required for the course with probably ten, or fewer, partial case readings required depending on the pace of the class.
Course Outline (pdf)
5297 Environmental Law in the Oil & Gas Industry - BORTKA (offered in Fall 2014)
5297 ERISA - SMITH,S (offered in Summer I 2012)
Employee Benefits Law may be the most important course you have never heard of. It covers the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), which is the basic federal law governing employer-provided benefit plans, such as pensions and health care insurance. (The Affordable Care Act currently under Supreme court review is one of many significant amendments to ERISA over the years.) Contrary to what you may have heard, ERISA is not just (or even primarily) a tax law. Its reach extends into many other major practice areas: health law, employment, labor, insurance, family/divorce, wills, trusts and estates, corporate mergers & acquisitions, securities, fiduciary, bankruptcy, and more.
This two-hour course will provide a basic overview of ERISA’s regulatory scheme. It will explain the difference between traditional pensions and defined contribution plans, such as the 401(k), which are far more prevalent today. The course will contrast the Act’s extensive regulation of retirement plans (such as funding, vesting, and accrual rules) with the much lighter regulation given to welfare benefit plans such as health insurance. Special attention will be paid to spousal rights arising out of ERISA covered benefit plans, and their impact on divorce settlements. Finally, the course will examine the benefit claims process, the limited judicial remedies available for ERISA violations, and the extremely broad preemption clause that not only sweeps away a multitude of state laws, but also provides ERISA defendants with a ticket for removing state law claims to federal court.
The goal of the course is to convey a practical understanding of how ERISA impacts a wide variety of practice areas. Such an understanding is likely to prove attractive to a wide variety of prospective employers: big law firms, family law firms, insurance companies, hospitals, banks, trust companies, benefit plan administrators, corporate in-house counsel, federal agencies, etc. Very few courses in law school can claim to enhance potential job prospects in this way.
7397 Finance & Ethics - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring 2013)
Finance and Ethics is a case study-based course that focuses on ethical breaches and the subsequent scandals that have impacted financial markets. The cases, authored by the instructor, give in-depth treatment to Enron and then to various firms involved in the Financial Crisis. The course’s objectives are: 1) to improve students ability to identify ethical issues in the workplace; 2) to train them in the case for and substance of good financial control; and 3) to equip them tactically to manage ethics issues they may encounter during their careers.
To accomplish these objectives, the course first examines Enron case studies that span the history of that firm. These cases demonstrate how Enron abandoned financial control early on while embracing flawed accounting and compensation systems. Each case also describes the financial engineering Enron used to pursue its aims, and the legal and accounting flaws which rendered its transactions problematic. The final cases focus on the efforts of resisters to reverse Enron’s tide of corruption. These studies recount the predicaments of Jordan Mintz, Vince Kaminski and Sherron Watkins, all of whom participate in the class’ analysis of their cases.
The second half of the course examines thirteen new Financial Crisis cases. Here the focus is broader – the financial industry, its gatekeepers and regulators. These cases cover Countrywide Mortgage, Goldman Sachs, Fannie Mae, Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Moody’s, AIG, Price Waterhouse Coopers and Lehman Brothers. Students will examine the use and abuse of financial innovations, such as Collateralized Debt Obligations and Credit Default Swaps. They also will study the acute conflicts of interest which affected senior managements at financial firms. Finally, they will encounter another group of resisters who enjoyed new legal protections and tactical options in the post-Enron era.
Each student will be part of a team that presents a minimum of two case studies. There will also be a take-home case study final exam.
7397 Finance and Ethics - ARBOGAST (offered in Spring 2014)
5397 Financial Statement Analysis and Business Practices for Lawyers - BRENNAN (offered in Summer II 2014)
Financial Statement Analysis and Business Practices for Lawyers is a graduate level course that will cover the area of introductory financial reporting and analysis. Included in the course will be introduction to the mechanics of financial accounting, the building of financial statements, reporting and analysis of financial information and in depth study of accounting principles and procedures. Certain business and financial practices are also covered.
The reporting of the financial and operating results of the business entity through the financial statements is a major objective of any company or organization. By the end of this course you will know the reporting requirements of public companies, how the information in the financial statements is used and analyzed and how the information is accounted for and derived in the form of financial statements. You will also know how to read financial statements as a decision maker in evaluating companies and how lawyers must use this information in their practices.
5297 Financial Statement Analysis and Business Practices for Lawyers - BRENNAN (offered in Summer IV 2013)
Financial Statement Analysis and Business Practices for Lawyers is a graduate level course that will cover the area of introductory financial reporting and analysis. Included in the course will be introduction to the mechanics of financial accounting, the building of financial statements, reporting and analysis of financial information and in depth study of accounting principles and procedures. Certain business and financial practices are also covered.
The reporting of the financial and operating results of the business entity through the financial statements is a major objective of any company or organization. By the end of this course you will know the reporting requirements of public companies, how the information in the financial statements is used and analyzed and how the information is accounted for and derived in the form of financial statements. You will also know how to read financial statements as a decision maker in evaluating companies and how lawyers must use this information in their practices.
5297 Financing the Business Transaction - DOLE/DOLE/KEYES (offered in Spring 2013)
SPRING 2013 “FINANCING THE BUSINESS” COURSE
Richard Dole, David Keyes, Esq. & Linda Dole, Esq.
Course Description and Prerequisite
Whether it is a mom-and-pop start-up or a billion dollar conglomerate, every business needs funds to operate and to grow. These funds are obtained through both infusions of equity and taking on debt. This course explores various types of debt financing that either utilize Article 9 collateral or are unsecured, and when each is appropriate. Customary loan documentation will be evaluated.
This course will promote an understanding of the preparation, negotiation, and purpose of loan documents, the legal considerations affecting loan documentation, and the parties customary obligations, rights, and remedies. We also will explore common alternatives and supplements to commercial lending transactions, like letters of credit and guaranties.
A two-hour course limited to twelve students. Secured Financing is a prerequisite.
Course Materials
(1) West, Selected Commercial Statutes (2012 Unabridged Ed.); and (2) materials supplied by the Instructors.
5297 Financing the Business Transaction - DOLE/KEYES/DOLE (offered in Spring 2012)
SPRING 2012 “FINANCING THE BUSINESS” COURSE
Richard Dole, David Keyes, Esq. & Linda Dole, Esq.
Course Description and Prerequisite
Whether it is a mom-and-pop start-up or a billion dollar conglomerate, every business needs funds to operate and to grow. These funds are obtained through both infusions of equity and taking on debt. This course explores various types of debt financing that either utilize Article 9 collateral or are unsecured, and when each is appropriate. Customary loan documentation will be evaluated. Drafting and role-playing exercises will emphasize preparing and negotiating business loan agreements.
A two-hour course limited to twelve students. Secured Financing is a prerequisite.
Course Materials
(1) West, Selected Commercial Statutes (2011 Unabridged Ed.); and (2) materials supplied by the Instructors.
5397 Foundational Issues in Health Law: Patient, Provider, Society and the Law. - EWER (offered in Fall 2014)
This three-credit course introduces students to basic legal and theoretical concepts related to the study of health law. Major topics include bioethical theories and their relevance to the law, medical malpractice, and the role of the courts in defining and applying standards of care. We will cover an array of interesting and challenging issues over the course of the semester, including the meaning of health, the nature of the physician-patient relationship, including privacy, access to care, and informed consent, public health, reproductive and genetic technologies, and end-of-life care. This class has a heavy discussion component and students are expected to come to class prepared to engage in an in-depth conversation about the assigned material. To that end, students enrolled in this course will become well-versed in the theory underlying the law and policy we study, as well as the black letter law.
5297 Fraud & Abuse - CLARK,D (offered in Fall 2014)
This course examines the federal and state laws imposing criminal and civil penalties on health care providers for a variety of fraudulent activities. The course explores the implications of the federal and state Anti-Kickback Laws, the federal anti-referral (Stark) law, the federal civil monetary penalty and exclusion laws, the federal and state false claims laws, as well as traditional federal white collar criminal laws as applied to health care.
5397 Genetics & the Law - ROBERTS (offered in Fall 2012)
This three credit course surveys the role of genetic information in diverse areas of the law. Topics will include an introduction to foundational concepts in genetic science, the commercialization of genetic material through biopatents, the role of genetic information in family law, the admissibility and reliability of DNA evidence in criminal cases, privacy concerns related to genetic testing, and discrimination on the basis of genetic information. Students enrolled in the course will produce three brief response papers of one to two pages in length and will complete an open book, open note take-home exam distributed on the last day of class.
5397 Health & Human Rights - LUNSTROTH (offered in Spring 2012)
This is an interdisciplinary course. It begins with readings in political/moral/legal theory about human nature, the idea of dignity, and the bases of ethical life. We then move to international law, human rights (as international legal things), the UN System, the relationship between human and US constitutional (civil) rights, and the existence and function of IGOs and NGOs/civil society [in other words, considered together, the international legal/moral order]. Then, switching gears, the course turns to the theory and practice of medicine and public health. Here readings will center on the nature of science through readings in the philosophy, history and sociology of science; and then principles and theories of public health. We will frame the understanding of the things we study in this section on the way knowledge is organized in the academy. We study science in this detail because it is incredibly influential in the political and regulatory spheres, especially in the way globalization is understood and promoted. We cannot understand the rather strange power of medicine and public health without getting a handle on the ideology of science.
We then turn to specific health & human rights legal/moral problems: torture; animal rights; intellectual property interests in drugs, devices and medical methods; migration; the “social determinants of health;” etc. We will do a class exercise in which students become familiar with a related topic, humanitarianism, and its relationship to the military and the use of armed force. We will consider in these contexts whether health is best thought of in terms of scientific medicine, in terms of self-determination, in terms of public health, or as something to do with flourishing. In which of those ideas of health is dignity and the possibility of an ethical, or virtuous, life most pronounced? If the core meaning of health is found in the way the state is constituted, then what is the best kind of state (i.e., constitution or system of laws to promote health)? Since political health is frequently thought of as justice, we will end with some readings about justice.
The grade is 30% from class participation (which include the occasional 1-pager and the class exercise); and 70% from a 5,000 word paper. There are no prerequisites. The course complements courses in human rights, bioethics, jurisprudence, science and the law, public health and the law, health law/policy courses, and international law.
5397 Health Industry Basics: Providers-Innovators-Regulators - EVANS (offered in Fall 2014)
This new core health law course is an introductory tour of Texas/federal laws governing health-sector businesses that together account for 18% U.S. Gross Domestic Product, including traditional 20th-century institutions like hospitals and an expanding array of new players that supply innovative products (drugs, devices, diagnostics) and services (clinical laboratories, biobanks, contract research organizations, health data exchanges, management and informational services) to healthcare providers and—increasingly—directly to consumers. This course acquaints students with the core corporate client base for large-firm and in-house health lawyers; introduces major regulatory frameworks that struggle to safeguard consumers’ rights vis-ŕ-vis commercial health-sector enterprises; and identifies big, unsettled questions likely to generate opportunities for practical, solution-oriented lawyers as this staid and troubled industry gropes for new business models in the era of big data and 21st-century genomic and “informational” medicine. No prerequisites required other than completion of 1L courses.
5397 Health Law Transactions - ISHEE (offered in Spring 2012)
Explores the application of federal and state regulatory principles to health care transactions. Students gain exposure to the document drafting and review aspects of typical health care transactions. This course assumes general familiarity with issues discussed in Health Law Survey: Access, Regulation, and Enterprise, such as the corporate practice of medicine doctrine, antitrust, and fraud and abuse.
5297 Health Legislation & Advocacy I - GRAY/WINNIKE (offered in Fall 2014)
This course is the first part of a two-semester course offered in alternate academic years. Students desiring to enroll are required to take both semesters. The fall semester will focus on the health policy development process, including researching and drafting a policy proposal on behalf of a non-profit community partner. Students will learn the skills to determine the best method to advance the policy proposal, whether through legislation or rulemaking. Grading will be based on several practical writing assignments (including a legal memorandum outlining the policy issue and possible solutions, a draft of proposed legislation, community support proposal, a letter to community partner, and a letter to a legislator).
5297 Health Legislation & Advocacy II - GRAY/WINNIKE (offered in Spring 2015)
This course is the second part of a two-semester course. The spring semester will focus on monitoring and participating in health legislation before the Texas 84th Legislature Regular Session. Students will monitor and provide support for the policy proposal developed in the fall semester course, track and report on other health legislation, and follow the actions of health-related committees. Grading will be based on several practical writing assignments (including drafting committee testimony, amendment language, community education article, legislative sponsor’s talking points, committee business tracking, and a health legislative summary). This course satisfies the Skills Course Requirement. Prerequisite: Health Legislation & Advocacy I.
5397 Health Regulatory Process - MANTEL (offered in Spring 2012)
This course explores how legal and policy considerations, intra-governmental relationships, and political dynamics influence health regulatory policies. Guest speakers will include current and former Department of Health and Human Services officials and health care advocates.
5397 Hospital Law & Ethics - ANDERSEN (offered in Fall 2012)
We will explore a series of topics that will touch on what a hospital based attorney may encounter. Among these will be discussions related to the legal aspects of:
1. Access to care, the hospital-patient relationship, and informed consent as it relate to the hospitalized or institutionalized individual
2. The physician and other professionals as employees of a provider
3. Legal aspects of medical research and clinical trials and compliance; sponsored research
4. Conflicts of Interest, conflicts of commitment, and the relationship of the institution and its professional staff to outside pressure or inducement
5. The confidentiality of patient information and preliminary research findings
6. Legal aspects of responsibility with regard to publication; the peer-review process and the legal implications of “ghost-writing”
7. Ethics, especially beyond the end-of-life questions; the formation and constitution of ethics committees, and the various legal and professional perspectives involved
8. A legal overview of the present health-care legislation; what new role hospital attorneys are likely to play
9. Institutional (in contrast to individual provider) malpractice and defense and risk
10. Biological waste as property, and ownership thereof
11. The credentialing process
The course will look at case law and readings, and it will involve class discussion and opinion. Adequate preparation of the assigned material will be required, as the course cannot succeed otherwise. The reading assignments will range from moderate to extensive. Some formal lectures will be offered by both the instructor and guest lecturers. The course will be sufficiently flexible so that room for significant discussion of timely events will be allotted. The class will vote during the first session as to if they wish to have a take-home open-book exam to be completed over a designated number of hours, or a standard formal three-hour “blue-book” (or computer) exam, to be graded and curved according to the policies of the Law Center. All participants will be required to comply with the selected examination form. As per school requirements, the eighty percent attendance rule holds. See me for problems; remember, computers are great, but don’t play games or surf the web while in class; computer use for finals as per school regulations; keep cell phones and pager on vibrate or turn them off.
5397 Hot Topics in Children and the Law - MARRUS (offered in Spring 2012)
Students will delve into various topics involving children and the law. The subject matter may involve juvenile justice, child welfare system, the educational system, or health care. Students will be responsible for writing a series of short papers on the topic, presenting information to the class, and critiquing each other’s work.
5397 How to Reason - CRUMP (offered in Spring 2012)
Description (pdf)
5397 How to Reason - CRUMP (offered in Spring 2013)
Course Description
5297 Human Trafficking Law - GALLAGHER (offered in Summer I 2012)
This class will focus on human trafficking and related federal criminal immigration issues facing local communities, states, the federal government, and the international community. We will cover legal and public awareness measures that are taken to prevent, deter, and respond to human trafficking, including the social service organizations that are critical to the restoring victims and preparing witnesses in trafficking cases. The class will begin by focusing on the legal definitions and framework of trafficking and move to an historical overview of state and federal laws passed to address trafficking offenses, involving both U.S. citizens and immigrants placed into labor servitude or the commercial sex trade by force, fraud, or coercion. The Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act and its eleven years of progress will be covered along with the visas and witness issues that are common with trafficking victims. During the class you will see how this framework guides the United States’ effort to combat human trafficking in both domestic and international forms. There will be guest speakers from time to time who will be announced.
5297 Human Trafficking Law - GALLAGHER (offered in Fall 2013)
This class will focus on human trafficking and related federal criminal immigration issues facing local communities, states, the federal government, and the international community. We will cover legal and public awareness measures that are taken to prevent, deter, and respond to human trafficking, including the social service organizations that are critical to the restoring victims and preparing witnesses in trafficking cases. The class will begin by focusing on the legal definitions and framework of trafficking and move to an historical overview of state and federal laws passed to address trafficking offenses, involving both U.S. citizens and immigrants placed into labor servitude or the commercial sex trade by force, fraud, or coercion. The Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act and its eleven years of progress will be covered along with the visas and witness issues that are common with trafficking victims. During the class you will see how this framework guides the United States’ effort to combat human trafficking in both domestic and international forms. There will be guest speakers from time to time who will be announced.
5297 Human Trafficking Law - GALLAGHER (offered in Fall 2014)
This class will focus on human trafficking and related federal criminal immigration issues facing local communities, states, the federal government, and the international community. We will cover legal and public awareness measures that are taken to prevent, deter, and respond to human trafficking, including the social service organizations that are critical to the restoring victims and preparing witnesses in trafficking cases. The class will begin by focusing on the legal definitions and framework of trafficking and move to an historical overview of state and federal laws passed to address trafficking offenses, involving both U.S. citizens and immigrants placed into labor servitude or the commercial sex trade by force, fraud, or coercion. The Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act and its eleven years of progress will be covered along with the visas and witness issues that are common with trafficking victims. During the class you will see how this framework guides the United States’ effort to combat human trafficking in both domestic and international forms. There will be guest speakers from time to time who will be announced.
5297 Immigration & the Family - FELDMAN (offered in Spring 2012)
This course explores the process involved in sponsoring family members for permanent resident status and examines the obstacles commonly encountered throughout the application process. This course further addresses the consequences of divorce and death on a family member’s immigration status.
5397 Immigration and Family Law - HEPPARD/BECK (offered in Spring 2014)
In this class, students will learn about and work individually and in groups to find legal solutions to hypothetical situations where family-based immigration law and family law (e.g. marriage, divorce, adoption, domestic violence, the Hague Convention and Suits Affecting the Parent Child Relationship) intersect. They will develop practical skills that will enable them to successfully represent clients who are seeking immigration benefits through a family member while learning the areas of family law that may affect their immigration client.
5397 International Banking - ZAMORA (offered in Fall 2012)
This course will provide an introduction to international banking law. We will begin with basics: what is money, how is the value of money determined, how are exchange rates established, what is the balance of payments. We will then look briefly at international monetary law – primarily, the law and guidelines established by the International Monetary Fund. We will then move on to the following topics:
• National supervision of international banking
• International supervision of international banking
• Entry into host markets, by US banks abroad, and by foreign banks in the US
• International lending, and problems of sovereign debt
• Bank secrecy laws
• Economic sanctions and international banking
There will be a 3-hour final exam (open book, open note), which will determine your grade in the course.
5297 International Corporate Compliance - McConnell/Martin/Simon (offered in Spring 2013)
Corporate compliance, one of the fastest growing markets for legal services, is the way organizations manage risk areas ranging from corruption to data privacy. This class will teach students how to use empirical data to develop a risk based approach to compliance. The course will begin with an overview of some of the risk areas driving the increased focus on compliance including global corruption, data privacy, trade controls, and environmental risk. Students will learn how to analyze empirical data to build a compliance program to address these risks. Guest speakers will include in house counsel with deep compliance experience who will discuss a variety of different compliance topics.
5297 International Investment Law - CARDENAS (offered in Fall 2013)
Description pdf
5397 International Risk Management - DIMITROFF/VOLKER/SILVA (offered in Fall 2014)
This course will look at the legal framework for international oilfield service contracts, including both substantive law and practical counseling. The issues and solutions discussed in this course will be similar to those that arise in many other international agreements for the sale of services, which commonly form the substance of much international legal work in Houston.
The course would be divided into three basic segments:
1. The first part of the course will set forth the background of international oilfield services contracts, including a review of the underlying treaties, statutes and regulations applicable to these contracts. These would include treaties and laws regulating the creation of oilfield projects, including international trade agreements, such as the WTO. This part will also include a series of discussions and reading assignments relating to enforcement, through litigation or arbitration, of international energy projects, including the New York Convention for Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, extraterritorial aspects of U.S. law, and conflict of laws and comparative law issues (e.g., differences between the law of the United States and England, as well as the general principals of law in common law and civil law countries).
2. The second part of the course will involve analysis of a specific hypothetical drilling agreement. We will use a format that involves the client having negotiated the basic terms of the agreement, which must then be dealt with by the attorneys for the client. The class will assist in the initial evaluation of the deal to advise the client concerning the risks that the company has undertaken.
3. The third part of the course will involve an analysis of problems that arise under the hypothetical drilling agreement, including: counseling of the client as the drilling commences and problems begin to arise; counseling the client and assisting the client them in protecting the company’s interests as the contract begins to slide towards dispute resolution; the conduct of the arbitration, with an emphasis on the strategic elements thereof. This will include multi-national mechanisms for the protection of assets.
In each of the above stages, the General Counsel for the client will provide feedback to the class concerning the pragmatic, practical steps that should be taken to protect the client’s interest. The senior partners of your firm will serve as your mentor as to the substantive legal issues before you. The students will be given a project in which they will draft relevant contract provisions based on the materials taught in the first part of the course. The work will be discussed in class, citing specific “client issues and goals.” The students will participate in teams and will then be asked to redraft the provisions to provide solutions. A “model redraft” of the contract will then be given to the class.
The students will be graded in two parts. First, they will be asked to analyze the “model redraft” provisions based on the legal issues and rules matters studied during the the course. This portion of the course will count for 20% of the final grade. Second, 80 percent of the grade will be based on a final exam that will be comprehensive and will cover the entire course material.
5297 Introduction to Finance Concepts for Law students - BRENNAN (offered in Spring 2014)
This 2-credit course is designed to provide law students with no prior course work in business finance an introduction to financial statements and the essential foundations of corporate finance and accounting. The course technically begins on Saturday, March 8 (though there is no class meeting that day; just an initial email contact and the first day assignment to be given). There will be four class meetings over spring break, the first class beginning Monday, March 10 and going through Thursday March 13. Each class will run from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm (note: the Law Center will buy everyone lunch during these four class days). The following topics will be introduced: how financial statement information is used and analyzed and how the information is accounted for and derived in the form of financial statements; time value of money; valuation of cash flows; discounted cash flow analysis for investment decisions and valuation of securities; market efficiency; cost of capital, methods of raising equity and debt capital, and introduction to basic financial statements. In-class discussion of the course material and assigned problems will be used to provide an active learning experience for students.
Exam: The exam will be a take home exam, to be handed out at the end of class on Thursday March 13 for students to return by Monday March 17.
7397 Introduction to Global Energy Management and Policy - PRATT (offered in Fall 2012)
This course, taught by Dr. Joe Pratt, provides an excellent introduction to the organization and management of the global energy industries, with a focus on oil and natural gas.
We will start with an overview of the patterns of supply and demand over the last two decades. This section will discuss important trends in the energy mix around the world; included will be the impact of new technologies and high energy prices on the emergence of new sources of energy ranging from natural gas fracking and deepwater offshore oil to renewables.
We will then analyze the major institutions that shape the evolution of energy markets. These include OPEC, international oil companies (such as ExxonMobil and Shell), the most significant national oil and natural gas companies (such as
Saudi Aramco, Petrobras, and Gazprom), and the governments of the major producing and consuming nations.
Against this backdrop, the heart of the course will be case studies of business strategy and government policy around the world. We will use these case studies to discuss many of the most pressing issues influencing global energy markets from a managerial perspective.
Class discussion will be an important part of the class, and we will have a variety of guest speakers from industry and government. Students will have the opportunity to define an individual or group project on a topic of special interest. The course will include graduate students from Bauer and the Law Center.
Readings will include sections of Daniel Yergin’s The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World and a variety of articles and case studies.
Joe Pratt is the Cullen Professor of History and Business. He recently has finished writing a history of ExxonMobil from 1973-2005. He taught at the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley and the Harvard Business School before coming to UH, where he regularly teaches in the EMBA’s energy certificate program. He has conducted research inside Exxon, the late Amoco, the late Texas Eastern Corporation, the National Petroleum Council, and the American Petroleum Institute. (His research did not put Amoco or Texas Eastern out of business.)
Outline (pdf)
5297 Introduction to the Law of Mexico - PINTO-LEON (offered in Spring 2013)
This course will provide a general introduction to the Mexican legal system. Topics to be covered will include an overview of Mexican legal history; Mexican constitutional law; the Mexican judicial system; introduction to civil and commercial law; real estate law; civil procedure; and criminal law. The course will also include an introduction to conducting basic research on Mexican law. We will also cover transborder litigation and enforcement of foreign judgments in Mexico The grade for this course will be determined by students' performance on 2-hour open book final exam.
5297 Introduction to the Law of Mexico - PINTO-LEON (offered in Spring 2012)
This course will provide a general introduction to the Mexican legal system. Topics to be covered will include an overview of Mexican legal history; Mexican constitutional law; the Mexican judicial system; introduction to civil and commercial law; real estate law; civil procedure; and criminal law. The course will also include an introduction to conducting basic research on Mexican law. We will also cover transborder litigation and enforcement of foreign judgments in Mexico The grade for this course will be determined by students' performance on 2-hour open book final exam.
5297 Introduction to the Law of Mexico - PINTO-LEON (offered in Spring 2015)
This course will provide a general introduction to the Mexican legal system. Topics to be covered will include an overview of Mexican legal history; Mexican constitutional law; the Mexican judicial system; introduction to civil and commercial law; real estate law; civil procedure; and criminal law. The course will also include an introduction to conducting basic research on Mexican law. We will also cover transborder litigation and enforcement of foreign judgments in Mexico The grade for this course will be determined by students' performance on 2-hour open book final exam.
5397 Introduction to the Laws of European Union - WILLIS (offered in Summer II 2014)
In this course, which satisfies the practice skills requirement, students will gain an insight into the way in which the law of the European Union (European Community law) impacts the business community at a national and international level. The European Union now represents a vast market and a window of opportunity for business and commerce.
The course will be graded on a series of short and practical written assignments, which will guide students through the drafting of a basic contract enforceable within the European Union. There will be three contractual drafting assignments that will be designed to build upon each other so that the fourth and final assignment will result in a draft of a complete contract. Class participation will also count toward student grades.
The aim of this course is to provide students with a basic understanding of how the European Union uses the law as a means to achieve market objectives through national and international business transactions .To this end the class will examine the basic components lawyers need to know when preparing to draft contracts involving EU member states:
• the emergence of the European Economic Community
• how the European Union is administered/governed by the four main institutions
• the sources and general principles of the European Community law
• how European Community law is integrated at a national level
• the contributions of the Court of Justice to this process
• how European community law is enforced at both a national and European level.
The class is will meet regularly during the Summer II session, which runs from June 2 – July 8, 2014.
5297 Introduction to Transnational Law - Hoffman L (offered in Spring 2014)
Note that while Dean Hoffman is listed as the lead instructor for this class, Dr. Joasia Lusak of the University of Amsterdam will teach the class sessions. The aim of the course is to introduce the concepts and methods that make up transnational legal studies. Selected aspects of comparative, international, and global law will be studied not only on the basis of theoretical readings, but also through practical examples and case studies drawn from very different legal disciplines. First classes are devoted to a general presentation of the components of transnational law and its issues, e.g., multilingualism. Thereafter, three main topics will be analyzed from both a theoretical and a practical perspective: (1) dispute settlement in a globalized market on an example of the WTO dispute settlement system; (2) jurisdiction issues in transnational conflicts – e.g., what court has jurisdiction or what law applies in a transnational conflict; and (3) transborder sales law – through the discussion of such regulatory measures as the CISG (Vienna Sales Convention), the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) and the CESL (Common European Sales Law).
5297 Judicial Externship I - BONADERO/ARCHER/WORRELL (offered in Summer IV 2014)
Well in advance of the semester during which they want to work, students should secure their own field placements with a state or federal judge at either the district court or appellate court level. Many judges/justices in the Houston area participate as field placement supervisors, and welcome applications from Rising 2Ls, 2Ls, Rising 3Ls, and 3Ls. If a student wishes to work for judge outside of Houston over the summer, s/he should first contact the Externship Director to discuss the possibility, and should do so before accepting a position with that judge.
Once a student secures a position, s/he must apply to the Judicial Internship Program at www.law.uh.edu/clinic. Students should not attempt to enroll themselves in these courses via PeopleSoft: if you’re approved, the Externship Director will enroll you via the Office of Student Services.
Any JD student doing his/her first-ever judicial internship for credit is required to attend an on-campus orientation. The date/time of the orientation is TBD. Students are responsible for reading the Daily Lex consistently to keep up with this information as it becomes available, as well as reading the Daily Lex consistently.
students must work a minimum of 180 hours to receive 3 credits.
5297 Judicial Externship I - BONADERO/ARCHER/WORRELL (offered in Summer II 2014)
Well in advance of the semester during which they want to work, students should secure their own field placements with a state or federal judge at either the district court or appellate court level. Many judges/justices in the Houston area participate as field placement supervisors, and welcome applications from Rising 2Ls, 2Ls, Rising 3Ls, and 3Ls. If a student wishes to work for judge outside of Houston over the summer, s/he should first contact the Externship Director to discuss the possibility, and should do so before accepting a position with that judge.
Once a student secures a position, s/he must apply to the Judicial Internship Program at www.law.uh.edu/clinic. Students should not attempt to enroll themselves in these courses via PeopleSoft: if you’re approved, the Externship Director will enroll you via the Office of Student Services.
Any JD student doing his/her first-ever judicial internship for credit is required to attend an on-campus orientation. The date/time of the orientation is TBD. Students are responsible for reading the Daily Lex consistently to keep up with this information as it becomes available, as well as reading the Daily Lex consistently.
students must work a minimum of 180 hours to receive 3 credits.
5297 Judicial Externship II - BONADERO/ARCHER/WORRELL (offered in Summer II 2014)
Well in advance of the semester during which they want to work, students should secure their own field placements with a state or federal judge at either the district court or appellate court level. Many judges/justices in the Houston area participate as field placement supervisors, and welcome applications from Rising 2Ls, 2Ls, Rising 3Ls, and 3Ls. If a student wishes to work for judge outside of Houston over the summer, s/he should first contact the Externship Director to discuss the possibility, and should do so before accepting a position with that judge.
Once a student secures a position, s/he must apply to the Judicial Internship Program at www.law.uh.edu/clinic. Students should not attempt to enroll themselves in these courses via PeopleSoft: if you’re approved, the Externship Director will enroll you via the Office of Student Services.
Students in this course do not need to attend an orientation, as they have already completed Judicial Internship I. Students will still be responsible for submitting journal entries, time logs, and evaluations, and possibly attending an in-person meeting with the ED over the course of the semester.
5297 Judicial Externship II - BONADERO/ARCHER/WORRELL (offered in Summer IV 2014)
Well in advance of the semester during which they want to work, students should secure their own field placements with a state or federal judge at either the district court or appellate court level. Many judges/justices in the Houston area participate as field placement supervisors, and welcome applications from Rising 2Ls, 2Ls, Rising 3Ls, and 3Ls. If a student wishes to work for judge outside of Houston over the summer, s/he should first contact the Externship Director to discuss the possibility, and should do so before accepting a position with that judge.
Once a student secures a position, s/he must apply to the Judicial Internship Program at www.law.uh.edu/clinic. Students should not attempt to enroll themselves in these courses via PeopleSoft: if you’re approved, the Externship Director will enroll you via the Office of Student Services.
Students in this course do not need to attend an orientation, as they have already completed Judicial Internship I. Students will still be responsible for submitting journal entries, time logs, and evaluations, and possibly attending an in-person meeting with the ED over the course of the semester.
5397 Law & Order: An Introduction to Jurisprudence - LUNSTROTH (offered in Spring 2014)
Law and Order: An Introduction to Jurisprudence
In this class we will explore different ways to think about the law. Although legal theory (legal philosophy, jurisprudence) consists of a long complicated history of often obscure and difficult to understand writings, I am going to approach it with the assumption that the core ideas and intuitions about the law can be developed and discussed in a common sense way that is accessible to anyone in law school.
There are no pre-requisites to take this class, except a curiosity about the nature of law and a willingness to give it some careful thought.
The grade will be calculated as follows:
• Class participation (10/100): you will be expected to do the reading and join in discussions. Some of you naturally talk more than others, but by the end of the class your general approach to understanding the materials should have become apparent from the discussions.
• Written assignments (70/100): You will be asked to write three or four short essays (5-8 pages). The final essay will be due the day assigned to the final. It will consist of the prompt: What is law?
• Each student will participate in a class presentation/exercise (20/100).
By the end of class we should have laid a ground-work that will serve you for the rest of your life with the law. Not only will we grapple with ideas of enduring power, but you will be given a basic set of intellectual tools that can be developed and elaborated on as you grow in experience.
5297 Law and Policy Reform in Oil-Producing Countries - MAPLES (offered in Fall 2013)
This course will explore the many ways in which both nations and states (including the United States) use their resources as a country. The course will examine the intersection of the petroleum industry with a variety of other areas: diplomacy, taxation, international relations, macroeconomics, “resource curse theory” and of course, how the law relates to all of these areas. Special focus will be on the relationship between IOCs and host countries.
5397 Law and Social Science - KWOK (offered in Spring 2015)
5397 Law and the Commercial Space Industry - CARMINATI (offered in Fall 2014)
This course satisfies the UHLC practice skills requirement. Satellite and commercial space transportation companies manage liability exposure at the international, national, and state level. Their ability to do so hinges on leveraging available government-sponsored indemnification, insurance coverage, and contractual waivers, while taking full advantage of the statutory and common law protections available to limit their liability. Students will be given the opportunity to learn about UN treaties currently governing state-to-state relationships, federal law governing licensing and regulation of commercial space entities, state laws attempting to limit liability for spaceflight entities, and the way in which the US Government has contracted private companies to meet its space transportation needs. Students will also learn about insurance coverage available to, and obtained by, satellite and commercial space transportation companies. This course will also provide an understanding of the satellite and commercial space industries generally, including an overview of the regulation and licensing of telecommunications and commercial space endeavors such as Boeing, Lockheed Space Systems, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, XCor, and Bigelow, among others. The course will also provide a foundation in the technological aspects of the satellite and commercial space transportation industries to generate a well-rounded understanding of the subject matter. Students will be expected to produce several written assignments throughout the semester. There will be no final exam.
5397 Law Office Management - POLLARD SACKS (offered in Spring 2013)
Students will be introduced to basic concepts of law firm management, including typical and predictable problems in managing a law practice, and solutions to these problems. Student outcomes include: understanding the business of practicing law and the importance of a very organized and low overhead office; obtaining skills for organizing files, handling finances, and minimizing accounts receivables; knowing how to develop business and to keep good clients; and gaining communication and interpersonal skills to handle employees, clients, and the people involved in the court system. In addition, students are expected to understand how the practice of law has changed over the past century and, in particular, over the past quarter century based on the popularity of the internet and social media. Guest speakers will include local practitioners, recent law school graduates, banking experts (concerning setting up your IOLTA accounts and obtaining small business loans), local trial and/or appellate judges, and/or representatives from the State Bar of Texas, depending on availability of the speakers. Class participation is critical and is one aspect of the final grade.
5397 Law Office Management: How to Make Money as a Lawyer - Brown/McIver (offered in Spring 2014)
This course is a guide to understanding how you can be financially
successful as a practicing attorney by either working at a law firm or by starting your own
practice. Topics covered include: understanding various firm business models, basic law firm
accounting and finance, marketing, case selection and valuation, law firm niche selection, how
firms cash flow, hiring/firing staff, and ethical issues.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies (FLLM) - TILTON-MCCARTHY (offered in Fall 2012)
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - A1 - MORRIS (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - A1 - MORRIS (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - A2 - RACHLIN (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - A2 - RACHLIN (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - A3 - TABOR (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - A3 - TABOR (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - A4 - TWOMEY (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - A4 - TWOMEY (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - B1 - HEARD (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
Course Information Sheet (pdf)
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - B1 - HEARD (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
Course Information Sheet (pdf)
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - B2 - MORRIS (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - B2 - MORRIS (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - B3 - SMITH (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - B3 - SMITH (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - B4 - TABOR (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - B4 - TABOR (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - C1 - HEARD (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
Course Information Sheet (pdf)
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - C1 - HEARD (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
Course Information Sheet (pdf)
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - C2 - RACHLIN (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - C2 - RACHLIN (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - C3 - SMITH (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - C3 - SMITH (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - C4 - TWOMEY (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - C4 - TWOMEY (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - E1 - SIMPSON (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - E1 - SIMPSON (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - E2 - SIMPSON (offered in Fall 2012)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - E2 - SIMPSON (offered in Spring 2013)
Lawyering Skills and Strategies
Course Description
Fall 2012/Spring 2013
Lawyering Skills and Strategies I will focus on an introduction to the American legal system and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within it. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical transactional issues which students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students will be divided into small groups to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will again be problem based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual lawyering experiences. This semester will focus more on developing persuasive skills. Students will work through simulations designed to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. The students will be divided into small groups representing opposing sides of the problem.
5297 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - E3 - TILTON-MCCARTHY (offered in Spring 2013)
5397 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - E3 - TILTON-MCCARTHY (offered in Fall 2012)
5297 Legal Aspects of Bioethics - WINSLADE (offered in Spring 2014)
Examines the legal, ethical, and policy aspects of current controversies in bioethics. Topics include the birth, development and growth of bioethics, law and ethics in clinical settings, personal autonomy, privacy, confidentiality and privileged communications, informed consent to medical treatment and research, law and ethics at the end of life, deciding for others (children and incompetent persons), the body as a commodity, organ donation and allocation for transplantation, and patients' rights to refuse treatment.
5297 Legal Negotiations - LAWRENCE (offered in Summer II 2012)
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 Litigating Contract Dispute - BUZBEE/ZAMORA (offered in Spring 2012)
This course will introduce students to the practical, strategic and analytical issues that confront lawyers when representing clients involved in contract disputes. Students will confront hypothetical, but realistic contract cases. A good portion of the class will involve division of the students into teams. Each student team will represent a client in the dispute and will analyze the dispute in terms of the client’s contractual rights (and defenses to the opposing party’s claims), along with procedural and other issues that will arise in prosecuting or defending a contract dispute.
5297 Medical Liability - BURRUS (offered in Fall 2012)
This course focuses on medical malpractice litigation. Through a practical approach, the students will examine each step in managing a medical malpractice lawsuit. In addition to exploring the fundamental issues of physician-patient relationship, standard of care, informed consent, institutional and agency liability, and peer review, students will learn about the substantive and procedural aspects of each stage of a malpractice action. The stages will incorporate such issues as determining whether to bring a malpractice action, qualifying or challenging expert and scientific evidence, proving causation and damages, defending malpractice claims, and allocating liability among different providers. Because malpractice is governed by state common and statutory law, most of the cases will be drawn from Texas law. The course will also highlight Texas’ reform statute that many see as a model throughout the nation.
5297 Money and Morals in the Courtroom and Boardroom - GERGER/LEWIS (offered in Fall 2014)
This class – taught by senior corporate law partner Kevin Lewis of Vinson & Elkins and white collar criminal lawyer David Gerger of Gerger & Clarke – explores the complexities in real legal issues you read about in the papers: Can you compete in Asia and Africa without bribing foreign officials when your foreign competition do pay bribes? What is “insider trading?” When it comes to executive pay, do CEOs live in Lake Wobegon where every executive is “above average”? What’s the difference between “defending against” a government investigation and “obstructing” it? Fracking – what happens when science and politics meet in the board room? What is the philosophy behind sentencing in “white collar” crimes? The course will investigate policy and moral implications that are considered – or ignored – by popular culture and often by the participants themselves. Reading materials and guest speakers will come from real cases and real situations, many of which were handled by the faculty.
5397 Negotiation and Creative Problem Solving - BOLON / KELLY (offered in Spring 2014)
"Negotiation tactics & strategies, including creating value, claiming value, and coalition building. Will feature exercises and guest speakers and will link negotiation skills to legal practice.
Mandatory attendance and participation, requiring robust pre-class preparation each week."
5297 Offshore Leasing - MOORE (offered in Spring 2014)
The course will cover the Deepwater JOA, Participation Agreements, appropriate portions of 30 CFR, the impact of the OHA Directors decision in the Julia case on Deepwater GoM Suspensions of Operation, the cycle time from lease acquisition to first oil or gas, mid-stream issues (pipelines to shore and PHA’s), OCS Lease Sales, internal approval processes of Lessees and other topics.
5297 Offshore Leasing - MOORE (offered in Fall 2012)
The course will cover the Deepwater JOA, Participation Agreements, appropriate portions of 30 CFR, the impact of the OHA Directors decision in the Julia case on Deepwater GoM Suspensions of Operation, the cycle time from lease acquisition to first oil or gas, mid-stream issues (pipelines to shore and PHA’s), OCS Lease Sales, internal approval processes of Lessees and other topics.
5297 Oil & Gas Pipeline Regulation - LAKE (offered in Spring 2012)
Oily shale gas development plays have focused renewed attention on oil and gas pipeline infrastructure.This course will provide an overview of federal economic regulation of oil pipelines and gas pipelines. This course will cover the principal statutory provisions, rules and cases that address jurisdictional status, construction, rates and other material economic regulation of these pipelines, with a focus on comparing and contrasting the different applicable regulatory regimes and historical antecedents. In addition, this course will consider the differing economic and regulatory policies that are drivers of federal economic regulation of oil pipelines and gas pipelines.
5297 Oil & Gas Pipeline Regulation - LAKE (offered in Spring 2013)
'Oily' shale gas plays in the United States have spotlighted the need for additional domestic pipeline infrastructure that may include a combination of natural gas pipelines and oil/condensate pipelines. This course will compare and contrast the principal substantive laws and rules in the United States that govern the economic regulation of oil pipelines and natural gas pipelines, with emphasis on federal regulation under the Interstate Commerce Act and the Natural Gas Act. In addition, the course will focus on the differing historical antecedents, and economic and regulatory policies , which are the drivers of economic regulation of domestic oil and gas pipelines under these different regulatory regimes.
5397 Oil & Gas Pipeline Regulation - LAKE (offered in Spring 2014)
'Oily' shale gas plays in the United States have spotlighted the need for additional domestic pipeline infrastructure that may include a combination of natural gas pipelines and oil/condensate pipelines. This course will compare and contrast the principal substantive laws and rules in the United States that govern the economic regulation of oil pipelines and natural gas pipelines, with emphasis on federal regulation under the Interstate Commerce Act and the Natural Gas Act. In addition, the course will focus on the differing historical antecedents, and economic and regulatory policies , which are the drivers of economic regulation of domestic oil and gas pipelines under these different regulatory regimes. This course will be taught using statutes, court cases, and agency decisions assembled by Professor Lake; these course reading materials will be made available through the UH Copy Center prior to the first day of class. THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS FOR THIS COURSE IS THURSDAY, JANUARY 16.
5297 Origins of the Federal Constitution - ESKRIDGE/PETERSON (offered in Fall 2014)
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.
5297 Origins of the Federal Constitution - ESKRIDGE (offered in Fall 2012)
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.
5397 Patent Remedies & Defenses - JANICKE (offered in Spring 2012)
5297 Personal & Professional Ethics - SCHUWERK (offered in Spring 2012)
Personal and Professional Ethics
This offering is comprised of two separate courses, both of which must be taken in order for a student to be enrolled. The overall goal of the course is to explore the causes of and possible cures for law student and lawyer distress. This is done through a series of readings and speakers that focus on such matters, including an expert on personality types, one or more psychologists who work extensively with law students and lawyers, and numerous practicing lawyers and judges. The overall methodology and philosophy of the course are set out at length in an article authored by the instructor. See 45 S.Tex. L. Rev. 753, 795-804, 809-813 (2004).
The one-hour portion of the course will require preparation of a ten-page paper, exclusive of footnotes, on a topic germane to the course. The two-hour portion of the course will be graded pass-fail. It will require preparation of short reflective papers (1-2 typewritten pages) on topics growing out of class presentations and discussions, and the completion of evaluative instruments designed specifically for the course.
5197 Personal & Professional Ethics - SCHUWERK (offered in Spring 2012)
Personal and Professional Ethics
This offering is comprised of two separate courses, both of which must be taken in order for a student to be enrolled. The overall goal of the course is to explore the causes of and possible cures for law student and lawyer distress. This is done through a series of readings and speakers that focus on such matters, including an expert on personality types, one or more psychologists who work extensively with law students and lawyers, and numerous practicing lawyers and judges. The overall methodology and philosophy of the course are set out at length in an article authored by the instructor. See 45 S.Tex. L. Rev. 753, 795-804, 809-813 (2004).
The one-hour portion of the course will require preparation of a ten-page paper, exclusive of footnotes, on a topic germane to the course. The two-hour portion of the course will be graded pass-fail. It will require preparation of short reflective papers (1-2 typewritten pages) on topics growing out of class presentations and discussions, and the completion of evaluative instruments designed specifically for the course.
5397 Practice of Environmental Law - HESTER (offered in Spring 2014)
This course is, more accurately, an Environmental Law Practicum. It will overview key areas of practice within environmental law such as regulatory counseling and permitting, civil enforcement, criminal liability, private litigation over environmental contamination, policy advocacy, and environmental aspects of commercial transactions. Each lecture topic will be paired with a separate presentation by a guest speaker who practices in that area, and who will provide examples of live projects and cases for class review. These speakers may include the Harris County Attorney (civil enforcement), the Galveston Bay Foundation (permitting), the Harris County District Attorney (criminal), the Audubon Society (policy advocacy) and others.
5397 Practice of Law in the Oil & Gas Industry - BORTKA (offered in Spring 2012)
Description (pdf)
5397 Practice of Law in the Oil & Gas Industry - BORTKA (offered in Spring 2013)
Houston is the “Oil Capital of the World”. Nearly all major and large independent oil and gas companies have offices in Houston. Hundreds of oil-business related companies call Houston “home”. Texas, as well as Houston, have perpetual needs for lawyers who understand how the oil and gas industry works and who are able to identify issues and offer practical legal solutions for the industry’s problems.
Nine million Americans are employed directly or indirectly in the oil and gas business. The United States is the world’s third largest producer of hydrocarbons with over 500,000 active wells operated by 18,000 oil and gas companies. There are 162,000 service stations, hundreds of thousands of miles of pipelines and 141 refineries operating in the United States. America has 3,800 offshore platforms producing oil and gas; nearly all of which are in the Gulf of Mexico. The industry is a behemoth.
Major stakeholders in the oil and gas business include landowners; developers; royalty owners; realtors; banks; local, state, and federal governments; foreign governments; regulatory agencies; non-governmental organizations; and shipping companies. Business men, accountants, economists, geologists, engineers, environmental scientists, public officials, and lawyers represent only a few of the professionals that make full time careers in the oil business or find themselves in positions to regularly and professionally interact with and represent people who do so.
The oil industry created and continues to use an extensive, unique, and colorful language that can confuse and impede those outside of the oil-patch. The most successful lawyers in this industry understand the business and its language and are able to identify legal issues that arise from the well-site to the gas pump. Clients gravitate toward lawyers that can speak their language and help them solve problems.
This course teaches oil industry business basics and terminology. It teaches basic concepts of exploration, production, pipeline operation and refining that are known by the majority of operating and business people working in those groups. Knowing these basics will equip the lawyer to better negotiate and advocate for his or her client and more easily identify legal issues, opportunities, causes of action, and remedies.
Oil companies often take opposing positions with respect to environmental protection, employment law, health and safety, use of independent contractors, risk taking, and regulatory and legislative advocacy. Knowing how and why these positions are taken, and the legal risks associated with each position help company-lawyers best serve their clients. Knowing these business and legal rationales also benefits lawyers collaborating with, or working in opposition to, the oil companies such as trial attorneys, regulatory attorneys, and lawyers from non-governmental organizations.
The student should complete the course with an appreciation of how the entire industry “works”, be able to identify legal issues that typically arise in numerous business disputes and opportunities, and be better prepared to assist his or her client with optimal legal solutions to those matters.
5397 Practice-based Legal Writing - TABOR (offered in Spring 2014)
Students will have varied opportunities to write and receive feedback on their writing in transactional and litigation contexts. Writing assignments may include short articles, letters (e.g., demand, opposing counsel, client, court), pleadings, motions, policies/procedures (e.g., promotion, protection of individual rights, discipline), and contracts or contract excerpts. Each student will complete three to five practical writing assignments, with total production of at least twenty-one pages, based on an average of 250-300 words per double-spaced page. Some assignments may require research. Each assignment will require the student to submit a first draft, which will be returned with written feedback, a second draft, for which feedback may be written or oral, and a final version that is rewritten to incorporate the second-draft feedback. In addition to any conference scheduled for second-draft feedback, each student will be offered opportunities to meet in conference with the professor for individualized assessment of the student’s writing. No text is required.
5297 Procedure of Patent Litigation - DHANANI/ALFARO (offered in Fall 2014)
The Course will focus on how to litigate a patent infringement case in Federal District Court and the relationship of the district courts and the Federal Circuit in patent litigation. In particular, the course will examine a hypothetical patent case from the pleadings, through the Markman hearing, and to trial. The course focuses on the hands-on issues that patent litigators face in their day to day trial preparation. The goal is to provide the students with an overall process for how a patent case is conducted all the way through trial.
5297 Procedure of Patent Litigation - DHANANI (offered in Fall 2013)
The Course will focus on how to litigate a patent infringement case in Federal District Court and the relationship of the district courts and the Federal Circuit in patent litigation. In particular, the course will examine a hypothetical patent case from the pleadings, through the Markman hearing, and to trial. The course focuses on the hands-on issues that patent litigators face in their day to day trial preparation. The goal is to provide the students with an overall process for how a patent case is conducted all the way through trial.
5297 Procedure of Patent Litigation - DHANANI (offered in Fall 2012)
The Course will focus on how to litigate a patent infringement case in Federal District Court and the relationship of the district courts and the Federal Circuit in patent litigation. In particular, the course will examine a hypothetical patent case from the pleadings, through the Markman hearing, and to trial. The course focuses on the hands-on issues that patent litigators face in their day to day trial preparation. The goal is to provide the students with an overall process for how a patent case is conducted all the way through trial.
5397 Public and Private International Law : Theory and Practice ( Formerly known as : International Courts & Tribunals) - KHAN (offered in Fall 2013)
This course focuses on the content and structure of international law by examining its foundation, its status and its application. Students will be exposed to the fundamental principles governing international relations, the foundations of creating and implementing international law, and substantive topics of public and private international law. The course will also examine the practice and procedure before international courts and tribunals that emphasize international civil dispute resolution by primarily focusing on the International Court of Justice ("ICJ"). Students will examine the ICJ's history, organization, competence and role as a permanent international institution and mechanism for the pacific settlement of disputes between States. Students will also learn how a case is brought before the ICJ and how various procedural and preliminary matters such as jurisdiction, standing and admissibility are addressed before the Court. Particular attention will be paid to the jurisprudence of the ICJ and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
With respect to the practice component of the course, students will apply the founding and substantive rules of international law to a hypothetical, contentious case between two States before the ICJ, the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. In doing so, students will also apply the rules of procedure and style of practice before the ICJ.
Students will gain experience in researching and using the various international legal materials and sources necessary for making oral and written submissions before the ICJ. Students will also gain practical experience in drafting written memorials and pleadings for submission to the ICJ, as well as making oral arguments based on such written submissions. During the course of the semester, students will prepare a practice and a graded oral argument (approximately 10 minutes) in the form of preliminary objections and/or responses to the ICJ each arguing whether a State has standing to bring a claim on behalf of its national, which issue arises out of the hypothetical contentious case that we will use. At the end of the semester, each student will prepare a graded substantive writing assignment consisting of a memorial to the ICJ on the merits of the case. Students will also deliver a final graded oral argument regarding the same. Students will work individually and be assigned roles as applicant and respondent for their written and oral assignments. In order to gain more experience, students may also be asked to prepare arguments opposite their assigned roles for practice purposes.
5397 Public Health Law - LUNSTROTH (offered in Fall 2012)
Public health law (PHL) is a vast, amorphous collection of laws that is almost co-extensive the legal system itself, the safety and welfare of the populace being a primary justification for the implementation and enactment of laws. We will begin the class with a survey of PHL and then take up a particular problem in global health. The class will be divided into groups each of which will represent a different participant in the process of evaluating and then implementing a public health legal intervention. The teams will become familiar with the science, ethics and politics, and the negotiations between them, in the lead-up to the drafting of a PHL. We will also investigate the evaluation of PHL: should it be subject to scientific testing? Are there better and worse ways of getting a PHL to the public? How should we measure the effect of a law? The problem we work on as a group will be a problem that is being addressed by a section of the local public health community; and I will be working over the summer to set up interaction between the class and the public health folks so you can get a hands-on feel of what it is like to work on a public health problem from the legal perspective.
5397 Race & the Law - CHASE (offered in Spring 2012)
This course will examine the application of constitutional and statutory antidiscrimination law to race related controversies across a variety of settings. The course will begin with an exploration of the historical developments that led to antidiscrimination law, and with an introduction to the competing frameworks that define current antidiscrimination law: the discriminatory purpose and anti-classification approaches that feature prominently in equal protection doctrine, and the disparate impact framework that is incorporated into some statutory law. The settings that will be examined include criminal justice, college admissions, political participation, primary/secondary education, employment, housing, hate speech, and the formation of family relationships. In each of these settings, we will devote close attention to the role of antidiscrimination law in specific controversies. Throughout, our intellectual goals will be twofold: to understand the special challenges that race poses, and to appreciate more generally some of the dilemmas of legal regulation.
5397 Real Estate Transactions - ZALE (offered in Fall 2012)
This is a "real world," practical course that will apply some of the substantive concepts from first-year property to a wide range of common real estate transactions and related matters. Issues relating to both commercial and residential transactions will be considered. Matters to be covered will include broker listing agreements, purchase and sales contracts, conveyancing documents, recording acts, title and survey, leases, mortgages and deed of trusts, foreclosures, and other financing issues. The course materials will be the assigned casebook, the Texas Property Code, and some supplemental materials. The course will be taught through a combination of lecture, student participation and drafting exercises. Students will be expected to review assigned materials prior to class; although cases will be included in the assigned materials, case reading won’t predominate. The object of the course is give the student a basic foundation for understanding real estate practice and the tools to identify and address legal issues associated with the conveyancing and financing of real property.
5397 Real Estate Transactions - ZALE (offered in Fall 2013)
This is a "real world," practical course that will apply some of the substantive concepts from first-year property to a wide range of common real estate transactions and related matters. Issues relating to both commercial and residential transactions will be considered. Matters to be covered will include broker listing agreements, purchase and sales contracts, conveyancing documents, recording acts, title and survey, leases, mortgages and deed of trusts, foreclosures, and other financing issues. The course materials will be the assigned casebook, the Texas Property Code, and some supplemental materials. The course will be taught through a combination of lecture, student participation and drafting exercises. Students will be expected to review assigned materials prior to class; although cases will be included in the assigned materials, case reading won’t predominate. The object of the course is give the student a basic foundation for understanding real estate practice and the tools to identify and address legal issues associated with the conveyancing and financing of real property.
5397 Real Estate Transactions - ZALE (offered in Fall 2014)
This course applies substantive concepts from the first-year property course to a wide range of common real estate transactions and related matters. The primary focus will be residential transaction, but issues relating to commercial transactions will also be considered. Matters to be covered include broker listing agreements, purchase and sales contracts, conveyancing documents, recording acts, title and survey, leases, mortgages and deed of trusts, foreclosures, and other financing issues. The course will be taught through a combination of lecture, drafting exercises, and student discussion of cases and other assigned material. The objective of the course is give students a basic foundation for understanding real estate practice and the tools to identify and address legal issues associated with the conveyancing and financing of real property.
5397 Real Estate Transactions, Practical Drafting - SMITH, FRANK (offered in Spring 2015)
5397 Reform in Oil Producing States - MAPLES (offered in Spring 2013)
This course builds on the International Petroleum Transactions course to provide in-depth study and expertise of the current law and policy challenges that face oil producing nations. Though the seminar will delve deeply into political and economic theory and its intersection and influence in law and policy reform processes, the focus will be on the current pragmatic difficulties of using oil production to achieve the goals that societies often hope for: rapid development, economic growth, stability and prosperity.
The first part of the course will be in a traditional teacher-led discussion format, with readings assigned by the professor and discussion and lecture about these readings. In the latter part of the course, each student in the class will be actively representing a specific country, essentially becoming an “expert” on the country. The country a student is an expert on will be determined in consultation with the professor.
The readings and lectures during the first part of the course will provide the historical experiences and critical analysis of the prevailing and counter-theories on the questions of efficient petroleum production, economic development, and political economy, commonly treated under the umbrella term “Resource Curse”. It will also feature at least one case study to ground the historical and theoretical discussions in real experiences of oil producing nations.
After the initial seminars led by the professor, the students will take on the responsibility of presenting, in his or her view, the most pressing law and policy questions of the country that the student represents. These presentations should be approximately 30 minutes to give sufficient time to discuss the issues presented. Students will assign the readings for the class for which he or she will be the lead discussant (the professor remaining the chair of the proceedings) and will send to his or her colleagues a concise 2 page memorandum summarizing his or her issues and/or policy and law conclusions, if he or she has arrived at such conclusions. The student will present any history (historical readings should be included in his or her background materials) needed to explain and present the law and policy questions that are at the fore in the country or company today. Students will work closely with the professor to choose readings and refine their memos and presentations.
The final paper will be a law and policy briefing paper that is pragmatic (not academic) in nature. It should be written with a practical audience in mind: government officials, policy makers, think tanks, lawyers and advocates. This is not to say that the paper should not be very well-thought out and properly cited, but the discourse, language, structure, citations, and readability should all point to a law and policy format for the pin-pointed audience. Exceptional papers will be sent to eminent practitioners in the Government and policy arenas that would have occasion and opportunity to use them. Should a participant in the seminar seek to turn their paper into a longer research-oriented paper after the seminar or concurrently with it, we can work together to do both of these according to University rules.
7397 SEM: Federal Natural Resources - BURKE (offered in Fall 2013)
This seminar will examine some of the mechanisms for the management, use, and preservation of natural resources on federal land and the Outer Continental Shelf, including wildlife, wilderness, refuges, rivers, national parks, National Conservation Landscape System lands, minerals (fluid and solid), and timber. This course considers the history, jurisdiction, and conflicts of the natural resource management agencies (primarily the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior) under the various natural resources statutes such as the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the General Mining Law, and the Mineral Leasing Act, to name just a few. Current issues to be considered include development of renewable energy on federal lands and on the Outer Continental Shelf, hydraulic fracturing, species listings and critical habitat designations, oil and gas development in the Arctic, wild horses and burros, and other challenging natural resource management issues.
7397 SEM: Meeting the 21st Century Challenges of Natural Resource Management on Federal Lands - BURKE (offered in Spring 2013)
This seminar will examine some of the mechanisms for the management, use, and preservation of natural resources on federal land and the Outer Continental Shelf, including wildlife, wilderness, refuges, rivers, national parks, National Conservation Landscape System lands, minerals (fluid and solid), and timber. This course considers the history, jurisdiction, and conflicts of the natural resource management agencies (primarily the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior) under the various natural resources statutes such as the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the General Mining Law, and the Mineral Leasing Act, to name just a few. Current issues to be considered include development of renewable energy on federal lands and on the Outer Continental Shelf, hydraulic fracturing, species listings and critical habitat designations, oil and gas development in the Arctic, wild horses and burros, and other challenging natural resource management issues.
7297 SEM: Advanced Topics in Family Law - OLDHAM (offered in Spring 2013)
Advanced Topics in Family Law is a seminar whose main focus is to allow students to complete a paper relating to family law. The paper, which will satisfy the UH Law writing requirement, needs to be 35 pages long. Two initial drafts will need to be submitted before the final version.
7397 SEM: Children & the Law - MARRUS (offered in Spring 2013)
Description – Students will delve into various topics involving children and the law and complete a paper to meet the writing requirement. The subject matter of the paper may center around juvenile justice, the child welfare system, education – special education or the K-12 educational system, or health care. Each student will be responsible for participating in weekly class discussions, completing a paper of at least 35 pages including footnotes with two drafts, and a final class presentation. Having completed Juvenile Law, Children and the Law, Children's Health and the Law, or Criminal Procedure would be helpful for this class.
7397 SEM: Consumer Law (Consumer Credit Law & Policy) - HAWKINS (offered in Spring 2013)
"This course will consider a variety of different consumer credit products such as mortgages, credit cards, payday loans, and auto title loans. We will read and discuss law review articles and/or books that deal with the law that currently governs these products, 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 on a consumer credit topic, and on class participation."
7397 SEM: Health Regulatory Process - MANTEL (offered in Spring 2014)
This course explores how legal and policy considerations, intra-governmental relationships, and political dynamics influence health regulatory policies. Guest speakers will include current and former Department of Health and Human Services officials and health care advocates.
7397 SEM: Information Privacy Law - CASAREZ (offered in Spring 2014)
"Information privacy" refers to each individual's right to control personal information about him/herself, and it is one of the fastest growing, and most multi-faceted, areas of the law. Solo practitioners representing private citizens in civil and criminal matters, as well as big-firm and in-house lawyers working for domestic and international corporations, the government, the press and/or the financial and health care industries, all confront privacy issues with increasing frequency. Information privacy law transcends traditional legal categories to involve multiple areas of the law, including torts, contracts, constitutional law, criminal procedure, administrative law and statutory interpretation. Privacy disputes are controversial (and often headline-generating) because they almost always involve significant competing policy interests. Consider the National Security Agency's warrantless electronic surveillance program: is it a dangerous violation of our civil liberties, or a benign and necessary tool to fight terrorism?
The purpose of this seminar is to provide students with an overview of important areas of privacy law, and to allow students to focus in-depth on a subject of particular relevance to them. Topics covered will include privacy and the media, privacy and law enforcement, surveillance law and national security, health and genetic privacy, associational privacy and anonymity, privacy of commercial data, among others. Each student will be responsible for participating in weekly class discussions, a final class presentation, and completing a seminar paper.
7397 SEM: Law & Religion - GRIFFIN (offered in Spring 2012)
This course examines the law's treatment of religion. In addition to analysis of the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment, the course examines conscientious objection, tort liability for churches, employment discrimination, and religion and politics, as well as some comparative materials on the international protection of religious freedom.
7397 SEM: Securities Regulation - BRITTON (offered in Spring 2013)
Securities Regulation
A study of the basic principles of our unique system of securities regulation. Among the areas addressed are jurisdiction, the identification of securities and the analysis and evaluation of the disclosure philosophy as it pertains to domestic and international offerings as well as under state żblue skyż laws. Special emphasis is given to the importance of the principal exemptions form registration under the 1933 Act, and to consequent civil liabilities for unregistered offerings or inadequate disclosure in filed documents.
7397 SEM: Topics in Employment Law - MOOHR (offered in Spring 2014)
The goal of this seminar is to develop knowledge of employment law through reading, discussion, and writing a paper on a topic of your choice. We will review classic employment law and discrimination cases, analyze unresolved and emerging issues and look at circuit cases the Supreme Court is hearing this term. Generally, the course is divided into three parts: the first is devoted to reviewing historically important employment law and discrimination cases, the second to emerging issues and current cases, the third to writing and editing your paper. You
will write a paper that satisfies the Law Center writing requirement, and are required to submit other assignments, including a first draft of the paper. Your final seminar grade is based on the paper, a good faith effort to complete the course requirements, and professional conduct throughout the semester.
7397 SEM: White Collar Crime - MOOHR (offered in Fall 2012)
This seminar will focus on several crimes, such as fraud, insider trading, misappropriation of intellectual property, and conspiracy and issues such as corporate criminal liability. In addition to reading statutes and cases, assignments include viewing three or four movies that illustrate white collar issues (these will be available from the law school library and can be viewed at home or at school on your computer). Students write a 35 page paper on a white collar topic of their choice that fulfills the Law Center’s writing requirement.
5297 Shale Gas & LNG - SAKMAR (offered in Fall 2013)
This course explores the myriad of legal, policy and environmental issues pertaining to global natural gas markets with a particular focus on global shale gas development and the development of LNG import and export projects around the world, including recent developments in US LNG export projects.
The first half of the semester will explore the growing role that natural gas will play around the world in the context of global shale gas development. By most accounts, shale gas development in the United States has been a “game changer” that could be replicated around the world so long as the right regulatory and environmental frameworks are put in place. This course will explore the existing regulatory and environmental frameworks for shale gas, especially those in the United States, as well as frameworks being developed around the world with the objective of exploring the substantive law of shale gas development as well as developing the analytical and practical skills necessary to the practice of law.
The second half of the semester will explore the growing role that LNG is expected to play as the “glue” linking global gas markets. The course will explore the opportunities and challenges for various LNG import and export projects around the world in the current contextual reality wherein energy law and policy are increasingly intersecting with environmental law and geopolitics.
5397 Shale Gas & LNG - SAKMAR (offered in Spring 2013)
This course explores the myriad of legal, policy and environmental issues pertaining to global natural gas markets with a particular focus on global shale gas development and the development of LNG import and export projects around the world, including recent developments in US LNG export projects.
The first half of the semester will explore the growing role that natural gas will play around the world in the context of global shale gas development. By most accounts, shale gas development in the United States has been a “game changer” that could be replicated around the world so long as the right regulatory and environmental frameworks are put in place. This course will explore the existing regulatory and environmental frameworks for shale gas, especially those in the United States, as well as frameworks being developed around the world with the objective of exploring the substantive law of shale gas development as well as developing the analytical and practical skills necessary to the practice of law.
The second half of the semester will explore the growing role that LNG is expected to play as the “glue” linking global gas markets. The course will explore the opportunities and challenges for various LNG import and export projects around the world in the current contextual reality wherein energy law and policy are increasingly intersecting with environmental law and geopolitics.
5297 Special Education Law - Rynders/Beebe (offered in Fall 2013)
Course addresses the state and federal laws and regulations that govern the education of students with disabilities. Course will cover identification, evaluation, individualized education programs, placement, related services, assistive technology, discipline, enforcement, and remedies. This course will use a combination of lectures, class discussions, in-class exercises, and case studies.
5397 State & Local Gov't Law - ZALE (offered in Fall 2013)
While much of law school focuses on federal law, state and local law affects people more directly and concretely. States and local governments have substantial law-making and regulatory authority in areas as diverse as education policy, civil rights, tax law, land use and environmental issues. In addition, states and local governments are responsible for the financing and provision of most public services, and are the locus of much political participation by voters. This course examines both the law governing the powers of states and local governments and the actual content of state and local laws and policy. The course will also consider the relationships among various levels of government, including federal-state relations, state-local relations and intra-local relations.
5397 State & Local Gov't Law - ZALE (offered in Spring 2015)
While much of law school focuses on federal law, state and local law affects people more directly and concretely. States and local governments have substantial law-making and regulatory authority in areas as diverse as education policy, civil rights, tax law, land use and environmental issues. In addition, states and local governments are responsible for the financing and provision of most public services, and are the locus of much political participation by voters. This course examines both the law governing the powers of states and local governments and the actual content of state and local laws and policy. The course will also consider the relationships among various levels of government, including federal-state relations, state-local relations and intra-local relations.
5397 Statutory Interpretation and Regulation - BUSH (offered in Summer IV 2013)
This course introduces students to the role of statutes and administrative regulation in the practice of law today. The course covers, as its primary subject, the interpretation of statutes and regulations. This element includes the close reading of one or more complex statutes. The course also covers, as a second element, basic aspects of administrative law: in particular, how agencies implement and enforce statutes and regulations. The course may also include other elements, such as legislative process or regulatory policy.
5397 Statutory Interpretation and Regulation - HESTER (offered in Spring 2013)
This course introduces students to the role of statutes and administrative regulation in the practice of law today. The course covers, as its primary subject, the interpretation of statutes and regulations. This element includes the close reading of one or more complex statutes. The course also covers, as a second element, basic aspects of administrative law: in particular, how agencies implement and enforce statutes and regulations. The course may also include other elements, such as legislative process or regulatory policy.
5397 Statutory Interpretation and Regulation - BRUHL (offered in Spring 2013)
This course introduces students to the role of statutes and administrative regulation in the practice of law today. The course covers, as its primary subject, the interpretation of statutes and regulations. This element includes the close reading of one or more complex statutes. The course also covers, as a second element, basic aspects of administrative law: in particular, how agencies implement and enforce statutes and regulations. The course may also include other elements, such as legislative process or regulatory policy.
5397 Statutory Interpretation and Regulation - BUSH (offered in Spring 2013)
This course introduces students to the role of statutes and administrative regulation in the practice of law today. The course covers, as its primary subject, the interpretation of statutes and regulations. This element includes the close reading of one or more complex statutes. The course also covers, as a second element, basic aspects of administrative law: in particular, how agencies implement and enforce statutes and regulations. The course may also include other elements, such as legislative process or regulatory policy.
5297 Tax Accounting - LEIGHTMAN/WOODRUFF (offered in Spring 2013)
Study of methods of accounting in the context of Federal tax laws including cash, accrual, installment methods, inventory taxation and time value of money concepts. The course will focus on the appropriate taxable year for including items of income, gain, loss and expense. The course will cover cash, accrual, installment and inventory methods as well as time value of money rules. The course will cover various judicial doctrines of taxation including the tax benefit rule, claim of right doctrine, economic benefit doctrine and constructive receipt concepts. Through the case method, students will learn the application of the principles of taxation in the context of tax planning. The reasoning and methodology utilized in the course will provide a sound basis for the study and analysis advanced tax topics in subsequent courses.
5397 Tax Policy - TBA (offered in Spring 2015)
This seminar is designed (i) to introduce students to recurring themes of tax policy; and (ii) to develop students' ability to analyze and discuss the tax policy implications of existing and proposed laws.
5297 Taxation of Intellectual Property - Hoose (offered in Spring 2014)
This course is designed to give a comprehensive understanding of U.S. federal and state tax rules applicable to the development, acquisition, transfer, and exploitation of intellectual property. The course will also cover the tax consequences of litigation involving intellectual property. Finally, the course will undertake an in-depth analysis of the role played by intellectual property in the international and state tax planning structures (often referred to as “base erosion and profit shifting” structures, or BEPS for short) commonly used by U.S. and foreign based multinational corporations, primarily in the technology sector.
5397 Texas Criminal Appellate Procedure - WICOFF (offered in Fall 2014)
This upper-level class will focus on state criminal appellate procedure, with emphasis placed on the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and, where applicable to state appellate practice, the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The general approach of this course will be twofold: 1) to examine case law interpretation of the procedural rules that govern post-judgment criminal procedure in Texas, from motions for new trial through state post-conviction writs of habeas corpus; and 2) to discuss the most common substantive issues which arise in appellate proceedings in state courts, including claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, evidence sufficiency law, appellate review of jury charge error, Brady violations and actual innocence claims.
Throughout this course, practical and strategic aspects of appellate practice will regularly be discussed. In addition to reading assigned cases, students will be required to read an appellate transcript of an appeal that has been handled by the Harris County Public Defender’s Office appellate division, thereby seeing how the subject matter of the course applies, step-by-step, to an actual appeal. The students will also be invited to watch the oral argument that is held in the case. The aim is to provide students with an appropriate mix of theory and practice. So, for example, you will not only learn the rules regarding appeals, but will be provided with an appellate record that illustrates much of what you learn. Additionally, you will not only have that record as an illustration of what is being discussed in class, but you will be taught how to read that record if you were charged with handling the appeal.
5297 The Law and Policy of the US Electric Grid - Dworkin (offered in Spring 2013)
Course Description & Overview
The energy industry is both:
a key to the quality of life that billions seek and our world’s most significant source of pollution.
Thus, even as we struggle for cost-effective and reliable energy outcomes, environmental issues now seem the most important constraints faced by energy industries. This course examines the key issues in American energy policy (with particular reference to the electricity sector and with some reference to global context). It builds upon the concept of the "Energy Trilemma" in which we confront tensions among i) reliability, ii) economics and iii) environmental costs. Students will be asked to search for ways to resolve, or at least ease, the strains that such policy puts upon those three factors.
5397 The U.S. Health System: An Introduction to Managed Care, Transactions, and policy - MANTEL (offered in Spring 2015)
5297 The Wire - BRALEY (offered in Spring 2014)
This course explores advanced criminal procedure concepts and policy issues raised by David Simon's critically acclaimed HBO series, “The Wire.” Among the topics explored, will be the use of electronic surveillance in law enforcement and the policy and constitutional implications of its use with and without judicial approval, confessions, profiling, charging and disposition of criminal cases, honesty and accountability of law enforcement, the war on drugs, and the distribution of resources in the criminal justice system. In addition to class participation, grades will be determined based on a paper that students will be responsible for drafting and submitting at the end of the semester. Before enrolling in this course, please be advised that “The Wire” contains a considerable amount of violence and offensive language, and this course will require you to watch the first two seasons of the show in advance of the first class.
5397 The Wire: Crime, Law, and Social Policy - HAMILTON (offered in Fall 2012)
This course addresses various criminal justice issues dramatically illustrated in David Simon’s critically acclaimed HBO series “The Wire.” The topics explored include the following: policies underlying the war on drugs; the practicality and constitutionality of police procedures regarding searches, seizures, and confessions in dealing with street crime; institutional manipulation of crime statistics; race, gender, and class issues in the criminal justice system; prosecutorial bargaining and potential misconduct claims; and the politicization of criminal justice resources. Grades will be based on class participation, student presentations, and short papers concerning the legal and/or policy ramifications of certain scenes or themes presented in the series that may have broader criminal justice relevance. The prerequisite of having attentively watched the first season is necessary for a proper exploration of the issues previously outlined.
5397 Toxic Torts - SANDERS (offered in Spring 2013)
This course strives to give students an overview of the law of environmental and toxic torts. It includes cases in which there is a personal injury or property damage due to exposure to toxic substances, including drugs. It combines a historic overview of the field with coverage of the current issues confronting the courts and Congress.
The legal system’s response to these substances is both proactive and retroactive. Statutes such as the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) seek to prevent injury by assessing a drug’s safety before permitting it to be marketed and by regulating the handling of hazardous waste. Common law torts suits sounding in negligence, products liability, nuisance, trespass, and strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities – provide potential redress for injuries caused by toxic substances and drugs and as do statutes such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which seeks to ensure that sites that have been contaminated are cleaned up to safe standards. This course explores both responses within the context of private tort law and statutes.
5397 Toxic Torts - SANDERS (offered in Fall 2014)
This course strives to give students an overview of the law of environmental and toxic torts. It includes cases in which there is a personal injury or property damage due to exposure to toxic substances, including drugs. It combines a historic overview of the field with coverage of the current issues confronting the courts and Congress.
The legal system’s response to these substances is both proactive and retroactive. Statutes such as the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) seek to prevent injury by assessing a drug’s safety before permitting it to be marketed and by regulating the handling of hazardous waste. Common law torts suits sounding in negligence, products liability, nuisance, trespass, and strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities – provide potential redress for injuries caused by toxic substances and drugs and as do statutes such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which seeks to ensure that sites that have been contaminated are cleaned up to safe standards. This course explores both responses within the context of private tort law and statutes.
5497 Transactional Clinic I - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Spring 2014)
Students advise small businesses and people trying to start small businesses about business structure, contracts, possible tax issues, commercial law matters and similar problems. Many of the small businesses raise sophisticated legal problems, while some are routine. Students work under a professor who is a member of the Texas Bar, and frequently accompanies them to the first meeting with a client. After that, the students usually have most of the contact with clients, always subject to the supervision of the professor. A weekly meeting is held for general discussion of the particular projects.
5497 Transactional Clinic I - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Summer I 2014)
Students advise small businesses and people trying to start small businesses about business structure, contracts, possible tax issues, commercial law matters and similar problems. Many of the small businesses raise sophisticated legal problems, while some are routine. Students work under a professor who is a member of the Texas Bar, and frequently accompanies them to the first meeting with a client. After that, the students usually have most of the contact with clients, always subject to the supervision of the professor. A weekly meeting is held for general discussion of the particular projects.
5497 Transactional Clinic I - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Fall 2013)
Students advise small businesses and people trying to start small businesses about business structure, contracts, possible tax issues, commercial law matters and similar problems. Many of the small businesses raise sophisticated legal problems, while some are routine. Students work under a professor who is a member of the Texas Bar, and frequently accompanies them to the first meeting with a client. After that, the students usually have most of the contact with clients, always subject to the supervision of the professor. A weekly meeting is held for general discussion of the particular projects.
5497 Transactional Clinic I - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Summer I 2013)
Students advise small businesses and people trying to start small businesses about business structure, contracts, possible tax issues, commercial law matters and similar problems. Many of the small businesses raise sophisticated legal problems, while some are routine. Students work under a professor who is a member of the Texas Bar, and frequently accompanies them to the first meeting with a client. After that, the students usually have most of the contact with clients, always subject to the supervision of the professor. A weekly meeting is held for general discussion of the particular projects.
5497 Transactional Clinic II - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Fall 2013)
Students advise small businesses and people trying to start small businesses about business structure, contracts, possible tax issues, commercial law matters and similar problems. Many of the small businesses raise sophisticated legal problems, while some are routine. Students work under a professor who is a member of the Texas Bar, and frequently accompanies them to the first meeting with a client. After that, the students usually have most of the contact with clients, always subject to the supervision of the professor. A weekly meeting is held for general discussion of the particular projects.
5497 Transactional Clinic II - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Summer I 2013)
Students advise small businesses and people trying to start small businesses about business structure, contracts, possible tax issues, commercial law matters and similar problems. Many of the small businesses raise sophisticated legal problems, while some are routine. Students work under a professor who is a member of the Texas Bar, and frequently accompanies them to the first meeting with a client. After that, the students usually have most of the contact with clients, always subject to the supervision of the professor. A weekly meeting is held for general discussion of the particular projects.
5497 Transactional Clinic II - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Spring 2014)
Students advise small businesses and people trying to start small businesses about business structure, contracts, possible tax issues, commercial law matters and similar problems. Many of the small businesses raise sophisticated legal problems, while some are routine. Students work under a professor who is a member of the Texas Bar, and frequently accompanies them to the first meeting with a client. After that, the students usually have most of the contact with clients, always subject to the supervision of the professor. A weekly meeting is held for general discussion of the particular projects.
5497 Transactional Clinic II - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Summer I 2014)
Students advise small businesses and people trying to start small businesses about business structure, contracts, possible tax issues, commercial law matters and similar problems. Many of the small businesses raise sophisticated legal problems, while some are routine. Students work under a professor who is a member of the Texas Bar, and frequently accompanies them to the first meeting with a client. After that, the students usually have most of the contact with clients, always subject to the supervision of the professor. A weekly meeting is held for general discussion of the particular projects.
5397 Transactional Clinic II - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Summer I 2014)
Students advise small businesses and people trying to start small businesses about business structure, contracts, possible tax issues, commercial law matters and similar problems. Many of the small businesses raise sophisticated legal problems, while some are routine. Students work under a professor who is a member of the Texas Bar, and frequently accompanies them to the first meeting with a client. After that, the students usually have most of the contact with clients, always subject to the supervision of the professor. A weekly meeting is held for general discussion of the particular projects.
5397 Transactional Clinic II. - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Spring 2014)
5397 Transactional Clinic II. - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Summer I 2013)
5397 Transactional Clinic II. - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Fall 2013)
5397 Transactional Clinic II. - KAFAH BACHARI (offered in Spring 2013)
5397 Transnational Petroleum Law and Investment in Latin America - CARDENAS (offered in Spring 2014)
This course is designed to present transactional and litigation cases involving Latin American oil producing countries on issues of international investment law, international arbitration, human rights and environmental law, which considered altogether make a significant contribution to the development of a transnational petroleum law.
Over the last decade, Latin America has been renowned as a strategic region for business in the international oil industry. The region is rich in natural resources and hydrocarbons reserves, and has attracted oil companies from all over the world to participate in upstream mega projects in traditional and emerging markets. However, it has been also the scenario of transnational litigation involving States and foreign investors, caused by expropriation waves, tax reforms and environmental claims.
The course will provide tools to develop legal skills acting as in-house counsel or as international attorney in the petroleum industry, such as:
1) The identification of petroleum industry best practices from State and Non-State sources of law applicable to petroleum investment projects, based in the review of petroleum contracts, petroleum industry standards and arbitration awards.
2) The discovery of new trends in transnational compliance and litigation involving petroleum transactions in Latin America, in order to improve expertise on risk allocation, investment protection and regulation of foreign investment.
3) Becoming familiar with the review of Bilateral Investment Treaties and Multilateral Investment Treaties, and the most relevant investment arbitration rules such as ICSID, ICC and UNCITRAL rules.
4) Building a broad perspective of petroleum national regulation and transactions in seven countries in Latin America: Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
You may have access to a brief note of last semester course in the following link: Spring2013
5397 Transnational Petroleum Law in Latin America - CARDENAS (offered in Spring 2013)
This course is designed to present transactional and litigation cases involving Latin American oil producing countries on issues of international investment law, international arbitration, human rights and environmental law, which considered altogether make a significant contribution to the development of a transnational petroleum law.
Over the last decade, Latin America has been renowned as a strategic region for business in the international oil industry. The region is rich in natural resources and hydrocarbons reserves, and has attracted oil companies from all over the world to participate in upstream mega projects in traditional and emerging markets. However, it has been also the scenario of transnational litigation involving States and foreign investors, caused by expropriation waves, tax reforms and environmental claims.
The course will provide tools to develop legal skills acting as in-house counsel or as international attorney in the petroleum industry, such as:
1) Recognize petroleum industry best practices from State and Non-State sources of law applicable to petroleum investment projects, based in the review of petroleum contracts, petroleum industry standards and arbitration awards.
2) Identify new trends in transnational compliance and litigation involving petroleum transactions in Latin America, in order to improve expertise on risk allocation, investment protection and regulation of foreign investment.
3) Become familiar with the review of Bilateral Investment Treaties and Multilateral Investment Treaties, and the most relevant investment arbitration rules such as ICSID, ICC and UNCITRAL rules.
4) Build a broad perspective of petroleum national regulation and transactions in seven countries in Latin America: Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
5397 Venture Capital - BAKER (offered in Spring 2013)
The course will introduce students to the various legal and business considerations involved in forming and operating an emerging growth business. The course will utilize sample agreements, involve students in discussions regarding the numerous issues presented to legal counsel in representing start up emerging companies including forming the entity, structuring the economic benefits and management control among various owners, protecting intellectual property assets and raising capital for the business. Having completed business organizations and some accounting is necessary to satisfactorily completing this course.
5297 Whistleblower Litigation - ANDROPHY/GRIER/FRAZIER (offered in Spring 2012)
Whistleblower lawsuits under the False Claims Act, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Tax Relief Act of 2006, and related state laws. These acts cover health care fraud, government contracting fraud, financial fraud, and tax fraud. We will discuss the procedural steps for bringing a lawsuit or claim, the process of investigation, jurisdictional issues, pitfalls and bars to recovery, potential damages and penalties, and the ultimate bounty to the whistleblower. We will also discuss issues of retaliation for being a whistleblower and the potential for compensation.
7397 WRC: Advanced Intellectual Property Topics - JANICKE (offered in Spring 2015)
Prerequisite: Patent Remedies and Defenses. Permission of Instructor Required.
7397 WRC: Client Communications - TBA (offered in Spring 2015)
7397 WRC: Consumer Credit Law and Policy - HAWKINS (offered in Fall 2014)
This course will consider a variety of different consumer credit products such as mortgages, credit cards, payday loans, and auto title loans. We will read and discuss law review articles, statutes, cases, and/or books that deal with the law that currently governs these products, and we will consider how to change the laws to meet policy goals and how to advise clients regarding these laws. Students' grades will be based on several expository writings (e.g., client letters, research memoranda, court documents, and short articles similar to those that appear in bar journals) and on class participation. This class satisfies the Law Center's Upper Level Writing Requirement.
5397 WRC: Practice-based Legal Writing - TABOR (offered in Fall 2014)
Students will have varied opportunities to write and receive feedback on their writing in transactional and litigation contexts. Writing assignments may include short articles, letters (e.g., demand, opposing counsel, client, court), pleadings, motions, policies/procedures (e.g., promotion, protection of individual rights, discipline), and contracts or contract excerpts. Each student will complete three to five practical writing assignments, with total production of at least twenty-one pages, based on an average of 250-300 words per double-spaced page. Some assignments may require research. Each assignment will require the student to submit a first draft, which will be returned with written feedback, a second draft, for which feedback may be written or oral, and a final version that is rewritten to incorporate the second-draft feedback. In addition to any conference scheduled for second-draft feedback, each student will be offered opportunities to meet in conference with the professor for individualized assessment of the student’s writing. No text is required.
5397 WRC: Writing for Criminal Defense - MASELLI (offered in Spring 2015)
5397 Written Advocacy - HOFFMANL (offered in Spring 2014)
In this three-hour credit course, which does not satisfy the UHLC writing requirement, you will receive extensive feedback from the instructor on your writing. The course is intended for students who wish to improve their persuasive writing skills, especially for civil litigation practice.
In our initial meetings we will discuss basic strategies for approaching a problem that calls for a written answer and analysis. Over the course of the semester, we will work on different writing assignments. You will do multiple drafts of each assignment. The ultimate goal of the class is for you to gain a better understanding of your own writing talent and tendencies and develop better writing skills and habits.
5397 Written Advocacy - HoffmanL (offered in Spring 2012)
Course Outline: This three credit hour course, which does not satisfy the UHLC writing requirement, is an advanced course of study in written advocacy for litigators. It is intended for students who wish to improve their persuasive writing skills, especially for civil litigation practice. Enrollment is limited to fourteen students.
Here is how the class works. In our first class meeting, the instructor will lead a discussion about basic strategies for approaching a problem that calls for a written answer/analysis. Students then have a few weeks to work up a first draft. At least once during these first few weeks, students will meet with the instructor about their first drafts. Once the drafts are completed, they will be exchanged in advance of the next class. In the next class, students and the instructor provide feedback on the initial work. The immediate goals of this first exercise are (i) dissection of good approaches to answering and analyzing the problem; (ii) comparative study of student work; and (iii) developing suggestions and a strategy plan for further refinement. Second drafts will then be due, following this same format with further feedback, along similar lines, at a more advanced stage of development.
There is no casebook for the course. The instructor will distribute a packet of reading material. There is no final examination. Students will be evaluated primarily on their written work; in-class participation may also be taken into account. At most, class participation could increase a student’s final grade by one-third of a letter grade. It is possible (though rare) for a student’s grade to be reduced for failure to participate.
Attendance is required both for regular class meetings and the separate meetings that will be scheduled with the instructor to discuss drafts of the student’s work. The instructor may lower a final grade and/or take any other appropriate disciplinary action necessary if the student is absent from more than 20% of the scheduled classes and instructor meetings.
5397 Written Advocacy - HOFFMANL (offered in Spring 2013)
This three credit hour course, which does not satisfy the UHLC writing requirement, is an advanced course of study in written advocacy for litigators. It is intended for students who wish to improve their persuasive writing skills, especially for civil litigation practice. Enrollment is limited to fourteen students.
Here is how the class works. In our first class meeting, the instructor will lead a discussion about basic strategies for approaching a problem that calls for a written answer/analysis. Students then have a few weeks to work up a first draft. At least once during these first few weeks, students will meet with the instructor about their first drafts. Once the drafts are completed, they will be exchanged in advance of the next class. In the next class, students and the instructor provide feedback on the initial work. The immediate goals of this first exercise are (i) dissection of good approaches to answering and analyzing the problem; (ii) comparative study of student work; and (iii) developing suggestions and a strategy plan for further refinement. Second drafts will then be due, following this same format with further feedback, along similar lines, at a more advanced stage of development.
There is no casebook for the course. The instructor will distribute a packet of reading material. There is no final examination. Students will be evaluated primarily on their written work; in-class participation may also be taken into account. At most, class participation could increase a student’s final grade by one-third of a letter grade. It is possible (though rare) for a student’s grade to be reduced for failure to participate.
Attendance is required both for regular class meetings and the separate meetings that will be scheduled with the instructor to discuss drafts of the student’s work. The instructor may lower a final grade and/or take any other appropriate disciplinary action necessary if the student is absent from more than 20% of the scheduled classes and instructor meetings.
5397 Wrongful Convictions Causes and Remedies - THOMPSON (offered in Spring 2012)
This course will examine the leading causes of wrongful convictions—eyewitness identification, jailhouse informants, false confessions, prosecutorial misconduct, and false or misleading forensic testimony. It will also address other institutional weaknesses in the advocacy system such as ineffective assistance of counsel and “tunnel vision” by the actors in the advocacy system. The goal of the course is to learn more about these leading causes and the suggested reforms put forth by experts. The course will include guest lectures from representatives of the defense and prosecution, as well as an exonerated man. Students will view a full-length documentary and news segments. Students will also have the opportunity to tour a prison. Grades will be based on a three-hour exam consisting of essay questions.
7397 WRS: Federal Natural Resources - BURKE (offered in Fall 2014)
This seminar will examine some of the mechanisms for the management, preservation, conservation, use, and enjoyment of natural resources on federal land and the Outer Continental Shelf. These resources include wildlife, wilderness, refuges, rivers, national parks, National Conservation Landscape System lands, minerals, conventional and renewable energy, and timber. This course considers the history, jurisdiction, and conflicts of the natural resource management agencies (primarily the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior) under the various natural resources statutes such as the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the General Mining Law, the Mineral Leasing Act, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to name just a few. Current issues to be considered include development of renewable energy on federal lands and on the Outer Continental Shelf, hydraulic fracturing, species listings and critical habitat designations, oil and gas development in the Arctic, wild horses and burros, and other challenging natural resource management issues. Although there is not a very much federal public land in Texas, almost every major energy company in the United States and many international energy companies have significant interests on federal lands and in federal waters. If you plan to practice environmental, energy, or natural resources law, this seminar will provide you with exposure and understanding of the major issues facing the managers and users of federal natural resources today.
7397 WRS: Local Controls, Land Development, Public Rights, and Private Conservation - BRAY (offered in Summer II 2014)
The seminar on Local Controls, Land Development, Public Rights, and Private Conservation will cover a wide range of substantive issues related to property law, natural resources, land use, land development, and state and local regulation. We will also focus on legal research and writing techniques. The course will be graded primarily on the writing of a seminar paper, which will satisfy the Law Center’s writing requirement, as well as class participation.
The class is currently scheduled to meet regularly during the Summer II session, which runs from June 2 – July 8, 2014. In order to ensure that students have enough time to develop a seminar paper that will satisfy the Law Center’s writing requirement, only rough drafts of the paper will be due at the end of the seminar’s regular class meetings in July, at which time students will receive a grade of incomplete. Final drafts of the seminar paper will not be due until early August, at the end of the Law Center’s summer schedule, at which time Professor Bray will enter final grades for this seminar.
To ensure that enrolled students complete the paper in the time allotted, prior to the first class session interested students must first choose a topic for the paper, and then meet with Professor Bray to discuss the topic. Subsequent class discussions during the Summer II session will involve individual presentations of the students’ research and draft papers as well as group discussions about relevant assigned readings.
7397 WRS: Securities Regulation - BRITTON (offered in Spring 2015)
A study of the basic principles of our unique system of securities regulation. Among the areas addressed are jurisdiction, the identification of securities and the analysis and evaluation of the disclosure philosophy as it pertains to domestic and international offerings as well as under state "blue sky" laws. Special emphasis is given to the importance of the principal exemptions form registration under the 1933 Act, and to consequent civil liabilities for unregistered offerings or inadequate disclosure in filed documents.
