-
Criminal Procedure II: The Federal Adjudicative Process
LAWS 47301
- 01
(3)
s
This course will conduct a survey of pre-trial and post-trial federal criminal procedure and the federal criminal process after formal proceedings have commenced, focusing on the constitutional and statutory law that governs at each stage. Topics will include: pretrial release and detention, the preliminary hearing, the grand jury, the charging instrument, joinder and severance, discovery, selected trial issues (including confrontation rights), plea bargaining and negotiation, and sentencing. We will also examine perspectives on prosecutorial discretion and ethics, as well as ethical issues surrounding the representation of criminal defendants. Various guest speakers will visit class, including federal district court judges. The student's grade will be based on an in-class examination and on several short writing assignments. (This course will not cover any of the material addressed in Criminal Procedure I, and that course is not a prerequisite.)
Autumn 2009
Alison Siegler
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Current Controversies in Corporate and Securities Law
LAWS 52202
- 01
(3)
b, s
This seminar deals with the most important developments in U.S. (and to some extent global) corporate and securities practice during the preceding year. The course and discussions provide analysis of the legal, political, and economic implications of these Developments. Each student submits one paper and gives an oral presentation and analysis of another student's paper. Writing for this seminar may be used as partial fulfillment of the JD writing requirement (SWP for JD '10; WP for JD '11 and JD '12).
Winter 2010
Richard Shepro
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Distressed Investing and Bankruptcy Litigation
LAWS 52522
- 01
(3)
s
This seminar will evaluate recent and ongoing bankruptcy litigation from the perspective of a "vulture" investor. Each week, we will focus on a particular debtor and attempt to value (often illiquid) assets whose future prices will be largely determined by the resolution of legal questions associated with the debtor's bankruptcy. Participants in the class will divide into three teams, each of which will make a weekly presentation responding to a particular piece of the investment-decision puzzle. Because market conditions are ever changing, the specific topics we will cover cannot be relayed in advance, but will likely include: first-day orders and critical-vendor payments, executory contracts, DIP financing and adequate protection, valuing contingent claims, the automatic stay, bankruptcy jurisdiction, substantive consolidation, and disposing of estate property. Bankruptcy is a firm prerequisite; secured transactions and a familiarity with financial-statement analysis are not required but will prove useful. Enrollment will be limited to 12 students, and grades will be based on class participation and the weekly presentations. Students should expect to dedicate significant time outside of the seminar to the weekly projects.
Autumn 2009
Ashley Keller
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Divorce Practice
LAWS 93202
- 01
(3)
b, s
This seminar provides an exposure to the dynamic process of representing clients in a dissolution of marriage case. Completion of Family Law is recommended. The seminar will familiarize you with the complexities that arise when a family is divided and wife and husband are dissolving their marriage. Topics are covered in the sequence of an evolving case from the perspective of a practicing lawyer and include initial client interviews and retention, determination of jurisdiction, interstate and international parental kidnapping, domestic violence, temporary and permanent child custody and visitation, temporary and permanent maintenance for spouse and support for children, awards of attorneys' fees and costs, exploration of property rights and factors for determining a division, the valuation process and problems in dividing certain types of property, pre- and post-marital agreements; pretrial discovery, preparation for trial, common evidentiary issues, federal tax aspects of marital dissolution, and effects of bankruptcy. Fifty percent of the student's grade is based on class participation, and fifty percent is based on the drafting of court pleadings and legal memoranda. Writing for this seminar may be used as partial fulfillment of the JD writing requirement (SWP for JD '10; WP for JD '11 and JD '12).
Autumn 2009
Donald Schiller
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East Asian Law
LAWS 80901
- 01
(3)
b
This course will cover the East Asian legal tradition, primarily but not exclusively focusing on China and Japan. East Asia is well-known for its remarkable economic development in recent decades, but has also been the home of a long tradition of thinking about law in a way that differs from the assumptions of Western liberal democracy. The course begins by exploring this tradition, and then traces the history of legal institutions in the region, focusing on the encounter with Western legal systems beginning in the 19th century. We will then analyze the major institutions of criminal, civil and administrative law in postwar East Asia and their recent transformations. The focus of this course is not on particular areas of doctrine, but on the ideas and institutions that make East Asia distinctive. Grading will be on the basis of a take-home exam or research paper at the students' discretion.
Winter 2010
Tom Ginsburg
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Economic Analysis of the Law
LAWS 73201
- 01
(3)
e
This course introduces the concepts of law and economics. Over the last forty years, economics has become an important tool for those who want to understand the effect legal rules have on the way people behave. This course also explores the extent to which the principles of economics can be used to explain the workings of the legal system itself. The topics covered in this course include the Coase theorem, the choice between property and liability rules, the allocative effects of alternative liability rules (e.g., strict liability versus negligence); the determination of damages for breach of contract; and the economics of legal procedure. No prior acquaintance with economics or calculus is assumed; the relevant economic concepts are developed through an examination of particular legal applications. The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Spring 2010
Thomas J. Miles
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Electronic Commerce Law
LAWS 61802
- 01
(3)
b
This seminar focuses on both the technology involved in electronic commerce and the law surrounding the emerging field. Electronic commerce is growing at an exponential rate. As more of our daily commercial lives are lived through use of computers, decisions must be made: will existing law treat e-commerce no differently than any other kind of commerce, or must new laws emerge to take into account some of the radical new transactions and complications? The seminar will begin with an overview of the history and infrastructure of the Internet, setting the groundwork and providing students with a working knowledge of the terminology and technology they will likely encounter working in this legal field. Additional background discussion will involve the concept of regulation of the Internet, global vs. national perspectives on the law of the Internet, and conceptions of sovereignty. Topics will be dictated by the needs of the moment, but will potentially include electronic contracts, digital signatures, the application of traditional UCC doctrines such as the mailbox rule and the statute of frauds to e-commerce, Internet sales of highly regulated goods (such as alcohol, firearms, pharmaceuticals), the domain name system and its relation to trademark law, trade-related issues such as consumer fraud/protection and product disparagement, sales taxation, Internet and business method patents, digital cash/smart cards, digital checks, electronic securities law, Internet gambling, commercial privacy, and e-commerce in gray and black markets. Time permitting, we may also explore the relationship of international law to e-commerce, the effect of e-commerce concepts on commercial litigation, and export control laws involving cryptography. Topics not covered in the seminar will be suitable for papers. Enrollment is capped at 20. Students may either write a substantial paper or write a shorter paper and make a presentation to the class at the end of the quarter. Writing for this seminar may be used as partial fulfillment of the JD writing requirement (SWP for JD '10; SRP or WP for JD '11 and JD '12).
Winter 2010
Marsha Ferziger Nagorsky
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Elements of the Law
LAWS 30101
- 01
(3)
1L
This course examines certain issues that occur in many different areas of the law and considers the relationship between these issues and comparable questions in other fields of thought, such as moral and political philosophy, economics, and political theory. The subjects for discussion include the nature of, and justification for, reasoning from precedent; the meaning of such notions as consent, coercion, and voluntary choice; the decision whether to impose rules or allow discretion; the problems of interpreting statutes and other authoritative texts; and the objective or subjective nature of moral judgments. The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Autumn 2009
Rosalind Dixon
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Elements of the Law
LAWS 30101
- 02
(3)
1L
This course examines certain issues that occur in many different areas of the law and considers the relationship between these issues and comparable questions in other fields of thought, such as moral and political philosophy, economics, and political theory. The subjects for discussion include the nature of, and justification for, reasoning from precedent; the meaning of such notions as consent, coercion, and voluntary choice; the decision whether to impose rules or allow discretion; the problems of interpreting statutes and other authoritative texts; and the objective or subjective nature of moral judgments. The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Autumn 2009
David A. Strauss
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Emerging Topics in National Security Law
LAWS TBD
- 01
(3)
This seminar will focus on select topics in U.S. constitutional law, U.S. legislation, and international humanitarian law pertaining to the non-criminal detention of alleged terrorists. We begin with a general introduction to the topic, and then examine specific policy problems such as the Guant?namo Bay detentions and proposals for preventive detention. The grade will be based on a combination of written product and class participation.
Spring 2010
Aziz Huq
-
Emotion, Reason, and Law
LAWS 99301
- 01
(3)
c/l, e
Emotions figure in many areas of the law, and many legal doctrines (from reasonable provocation in homicide to mercy in criminal sentencing) invite us to think about emotions and their relationship to reason. In addition, some prominent theories of the limits of law make reference to emotions: thus Lord Devlin and, more recently, Leon Kass have argued that the disgust of the average member of society is a sufficient reason for rendering a practice illegal, even though it does no harm to others. Emotions, however, are all too rarely studied closely, with the result that both theory and doctrine are often confused. The first part of this course will study major theories of emotion, asking about the relationship between emotion and cognition, focusing on philosophical accounts, but also learning from anthropology and psychology. We will ask how far emotions embody cognitions, and of what type, and then we will ask whether there is reason to consider some or all emotions "irrational" in a normative sense. We then turn to the criminal law, asking how specific emotions figure in doctrine and theory: anger, fear, compassion, disgust, guilt, and shame. Legal areas considered will include self-defense, reasonable provocation, mercy, victim impact statements, sodomy laws, sexual harassment, shame-based punishments. Next, we turn to the role played by emotions in constitutional law and in thought about just institutions - a topic that seems initially unpromising, but one that will turn out to be full of interest. Other topics will be included as time permits. College students may enroll only with the permission of the instructor.
Spring 2010
Martha Nussbaum
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Empirical Law and Economics
LAWS 56502
- 01
(3)
s
This seminar evaluates recent empirical work in the field of law and economics. Students will develop skill in critiquing the theory motivating empirical inquiry, the data chosen for analysis, and the statistical methodology employed. Particular attention will be given the methods used to evaluate causal empirical claims in law & economics. Grades will be based on class participation, a short research paper (not exceeding 15 pages) that proposes an empirical project, and in-class presentation of the research paper.
Spring 2010
Thomas J. Miles
-
Employment and Labor Law
LAWS 43522
- 01
(2)
+
This seminar provides an overview of the law governing the employment relationship in the United States. We will examine the nature of the employment relationship, the common law doctrine of employment at will and its exceptions, and the basics of federal antidiscrimination statutes, including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and selected topics arising thereunder. We also will cover the core principles of labor law, including the protection of concerted activity, the collective determination of terms and conditions of employment, and the means of enforcement of collective bargains. Study materials will be drawn from a casebook and statutes, supplemented with illustrative employment contracts, separation and release agreements, collective bargaining agreements, and other materials. The student's grade will be based on a final examination and class participation.
Autumn 2009
Sallie Smylie, Tim Stephenson
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Employment Discrimination Law
LAWS TBD
- 01
(2 to 3)
This seminar deals with the problem of discrimination in the American workplace and the federal and state statutes that have been enacted to prohibit it. Primary focus will be on the major federal equal employment opportunity statutes (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act), the types of claims that are brought under these laws (disparate treatment, disparate impact, mixed motives, and retaliation claims), and the varying burdens of proof/persuasion, procedural prerequisites, and remedies provided by these statutes, along with current proposals for legislative change. The student's grade will be based on class participation and a final examination; students wishing to earn 3 credits for the class may write a 10-12+ page research paper in addition to the final exam. THE CLASS WILL NOT MEET DURING THE WEEK OF MARCH 29, 2010, but will meet for seven weekly sessions beginning with the week of April 5, 2010. Three class sessions (including the first) will be two hours in length; the remaining four will be two and one-half hours long. Enrollment will be limited to 20 students.
Spring 2010
James Whitehead
-
Employment Discrimination Project
LAWS 67113
- 01
(1)
+, a, s
Randall D. Schmidt and his students operate the Clinic's Employment Discrimination Project. The Project focuses primarily on pre-trial litigation. In individual cases, the Project represents clients in cases before the Illinois Department of Human Rights (Department ) and the Illinois Human Rights Commission (Commission ) and seeks to obtain relief for clients from race, sex, national origin, and handicap discrimination in the work place. Additionally, in its individual cases and law reform/impact cases, the Project seeks to improve the procedures and remedies available to victims of employment discrimination so that complainants have a fair opportunity to present their claims in a reasonably expeditious way. To accomplish this goal, the Project, in addition to litigation, is also active in the legislative arena and participates with other civil rights groups in efforts to amend and improve the Illinois Human Rights Act. Second-year students in the Project can expect to handle several cases individually and second chair other cases along with third-year students. Second-year students will autonomously handle cases that the Department is investigating. In these cases, students interview clients and witnesses, assist in the preparation of written briefs and memoranda explaining why the client was the victim of discrimination, and represent clients at informal hearings before the Department. Second- and third-year students will jointly handle cases in the Commission and at various pre-trial stages. They will be involved in discovery (drafting requests, responding to the employer's discovery, reviewing the information produced in discovery, etc.) and pretrial preparation (i.e., interviewing witnesses, drafting the pretrial memorandum, etc.). Second-year students will be given the opportunity to attend status hearings and hearings on contested motions, along with the third-year student assigned to the case. Moreover, if the case goes to trial, the second-year student will be actively involved in all phases of trial preparation and will attend the trial. Third-year students in the Project are assigned cases that are awaiting trial in the Commission. In these cases, third-year students attend status conferences, argue contested motions, engage in discovery, negotiate with the employer, and prepare the case for trial. If the case goes to trial, the third-year student will be expected to be the lead attorney on the case. The Project also handles, or is otherwise involved in, several appeals each year. Both second- and third-year students work on these appeals researching and drafting appellate briefs. If possible, third-year students present the oral arguments in the appeals. It is suggested, but not required, that all students in the Employment Discrimination Project take the Employment Discrimination course. Third-year students participating in the Employment Discrimination Project are required to take Evidence. Third-year Students are strongly encouraged to take, prior to their third year, Pretrial Advocacy and either the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop or Trial Advocacy. Enrollment in the Employment Discrimination Project is limited and preference will be given to students who take Pretrial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop. The student's grade is based on class participation. The credit awarded to this seminar is governed by the new rules for credit for clinical work. Academic credit varies and will be awarded according to the Law School's general criteria for clinical courses as described in the Law School Announcements and by the approval of the clinical staff.
Autumn 2009
Randall D. Schmidt
-
Employment Discrimination Project
LAWS 67113
- 01
(1)
+, a, s
Randall D. Schmidt and his students operate the Clinic's Employment Discrimination Project. The Project focuses primarily on pre-trial litigation. In individual cases, the Project represents clients in cases before the Illinois Department of Human Rights (Department ) and the Illinois Human Rights Commission (Commission ) and seeks to obtain relief for clients from race, sex, national origin, and handicap discrimination in the work place. Additionally, in its individual cases and law reform/impact cases, the Project seeks to improve the procedures and remedies available to victims of employment discrimination so that complainants have a fair opportunity to present their claims in a reasonably expeditious way. To accomplish this goal, the Project, in addition to litigation, is also active in the legislative arena and participates with other civil rights groups in efforts to amend and improve the Illinois Human Rights Act. Second-year students in the Project can expect to handle several cases individually and second chair other cases along with third-year students. Second-year students will autonomously handle cases that the Department is investigating. In these cases, students interview clients and witnesses, assist in the preparation of written briefs and memoranda explaining why the client was the victim of discrimination, and represent clients at informal hearings before the Department. Second- and third-year students will jointly handle cases in the Commission and at various pre-trial stages. They will be involved in discovery (drafting requests, responding to the employer's discovery, reviewing the information produced in discovery, etc.) and pretrial preparation (i.e., interviewing witnesses, drafting the pretrial memorandum, etc.). Second-year students will be given the opportunity to attend status hearings and hearings on contested motions, along with the third-year student assigned to the case. Moreover, if the case goes to trial, the second-year student will be actively involved in all phases of trial preparation and will attend the trial. Third-year students in the Project are assigned cases that are awaiting trial in the Commission. In these cases, third-year students attend status conferences, argue contested motions, engage in discovery, negotiate with the employer, and prepare the case for trial. If the case goes to trial, the third-year student will be expected to be the lead attorney on the case. The Project also handles, or is otherwise involved in, several appeals each year. Both second- and third-year students work on these appeals researching and drafting appellate briefs. If possible, third-year students present the oral arguments in the appeals. It is suggested, but not required, that all students in the Employment Discrimination Project take the Employment Discrimination course. Third-year students participating in the Employment Discrimination Project are required to take Evidence. Third-year Students are strongly encouraged to take, prior to their third year, Pretrial Advocacy and either the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop or Trial Advocacy. Enrollment in the Employment Discrimination Project is limited and preference will be given to students who take Pretrial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop. The student's grade is based on class participation. The credit awarded to this seminar is governed by the new rules for credit for clinical work. Academic credit varies and will be awarded according to the Law School's general criteria for clinical courses as described in the Law School Announcements and by the approval of the clinical staff.
Spring 2010
Randall D. Schmidt
-
Employment Discrimination Project
LAWS 67113
- 01
(1)
+, a, s
Randall D. Schmidt and his students operate the Clinic's Employment Discrimination Project. The Project focuses primarily on pre-trial litigation. In individual cases, the Project represents clients in cases before the Illinois Department of Human Rights (Department ) and the Illinois Human Rights Commission (Commission ) and seeks to obtain relief for clients from race, sex, national origin, and handicap discrimination in the work place. Additionally, in its individual cases and law reform/impact cases, the Project seeks to improve the procedures and remedies available to victims of employment discrimination so that complainants have a fair opportunity to present their claims in a reasonably expeditious way. To accomplish this goal, the Project, in addition to litigation, is also active in the legislative arena and participates with other civil rights groups in efforts to amend and improve the Illinois Human Rights Act. Second-year students in the Project can expect to handle several cases individually and second chair other cases along with third-year students. Second-year students will autonomously handle cases that the Department is investigating. In these cases, students interview clients and witnesses, assist in the preparation of written briefs and memoranda explaining why the client was the victim of discrimination, and represent clients at informal hearings before the Department. Second- and third-year students will jointly handle cases in the Commission and at various pre-trial stages. They will be involved in discovery (drafting requests, responding to the employer's discovery, reviewing the information produced in discovery, etc.) and pretrial preparation (i.e., interviewing witnesses, drafting the pretrial memorandum, etc.). Second-year students will be given the opportunity to attend status hearings and hearings on contested motions, along with the third-year student assigned to the case. Moreover, if the case goes to trial, the second-year student will be actively involved in all phases of trial preparation and will attend the trial. Third-year students in the Project are assigned cases that are awaiting trial in the Commission. In these cases, third-year students attend status conferences, argue contested motions, engage in discovery, negotiate with the employer, and prepare the case for trial. If the case goes to trial, the third-year student will be expected to be the lead attorney on the case. The Project also handles, or is otherwise involved in, several appeals each year. Both second- and third-year students work on these appeals researching and drafting appellate briefs. If possible, third-year students present the oral arguments in the appeals. It is suggested, but not required, that all students in the Employment Discrimination Project take the Employment Discrimination course. Third-year students participating in the Employment Discrimination Project are required to take Evidence. Third-year Students are strongly encouraged to take, prior to their third year, Pretrial Advocacy and either the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop or Trial Advocacy. Enrollment in the Employment Discrimination Project is limited and preference will be given to students who take Pretrial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop. The student's grade is based on class participation. The credit awarded to this seminar is governed by the new rules for credit for clinical work. Academic credit varies and will be awarded according to the Law School's general criteria for clinical courses as described in the Law School Announcements and by the approval of the clinical staff.
Winter 2010
Randall D. Schmidt
-
Employment Law
LAWS 43511
- 01
(3)
This is a survey course covering the statutory and common law rules governing the employer-employee relationship. The issues to be considered include employment at will, employment discrimination, the regulation of wages and hours, laws governing employee leaves of absence from work, workplace health and safety, and the enforcement of employee rights. Grades will be based on a final examination.
Autumn 2009
Julie Suk
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Entrepreneurship and the Law
LAWS 61902
- 01
(2)
s
This seminar examines how the regulatory environment and legal advice shape entrepreneurial enterprises, particularly micro-enterprises in the US. The course explores the position of the entrepreneur in society, in the economy, and in our constitutional framework, in order to analyze the entrepreneur's fundamental legal needs. The seminar then surveys legal questions particular to start-ups, including strategies for structuring a business organization, licensing, financing, and protecting intellectual property. Throughout the course, students will analyze strategies for counseling entrepreneurial clients. This seminar is a prerequisite for participation in the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship by 2Ls and a co-requisite for participation by 3Ls. Students' grades will be based on active participation and several short writing assignments.
Autumn 2009
Elizabeth W. Milnikel, Emily Satterthwaite
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Entrepreneurship in Practice
LAWS 61702
- 01
(3)
s
This seminar will focus on the legal and non-legal tactical details of entrepreneurial endeavors. The legal specifics of corporate formation, tax, contracts, etc, are well covered by a variety of other courses at the Law School. The course will examine the life stages (formation, financing, execution, and exit) of a venture-backed company from the entrepreneur's perspective. Students who are interested in either starting companies or working with startup founders as their legal counsel will solidify their foundations in this course. There will be no textbook - course materials will include PowerPoint slides, readings from various entrepreneur and venture capital blogs, sample business plans, and other sources. Grades will be based on a 60 minute oral business plan presentation with accompanying slide deck and written business plan, individually or in teams of up to 3. Unlike past years, there will be no option to take an exam instead of writing and presenting a business plan.
Autumn 2009
John Rodkin
