-
Abrams Environmental Law Clinic
LAWS 67813
- 01
(1 to 2)
+, a, s, x
The Abrams Environmental Law clinic attempts to solve some of the most pressing environmental problems throughout Chicago, the State of Illinois, and the Great Lakes region. On behalf of clients, the clinic challenges those who pollute illegally, fights for stricter permits, advocates for changes to regulations and laws, holds environmental agencies accountable, and develops innovative approaches for improving the environment. Through clinic participation, students learn substantive environmental law and procedures for addressing concerns through the courts or administrative tribunals. Students develop a number of core advocacy competencies, such as counseling clients, spotting issues, conducting factual investigations, performing practical legal research, advocating through written and oral communications, planning cases, managing time, and addressing ethical issues and dilemmas. In addition, students develop an appreciation for the range of strategic and tactical approaches that effective advocates use. Some matters will be best resolved in front of a judge, others in an adversarial hearing, others through face-to-face meetings with government officials, and others by putting public pressure on a polluter or administrative agency. Any given matter may require the use of one or more of these approaches simultaneously or sequentially, although in general, the clinic will deploy adversarial approaches to help achieve its clients’ objectives.
Students need to take a substantive environmental law at some point when they are in the clinic. They are not precluded from taking the class if they have not yet taken environmental law when they enroll in the clinic and are not able to do so their first quarter due to when courses are offered. Nonetheless, students do need to take an environmental law class (any of the main stand-up class, climate change, or international environmental law) at some point when they are in the clinic.
Winter 2013
Mark N. Templeton
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Abrams Environmental Law Clinic
LAWS 67813
- 01
(1 to 2)
+, a, s, x
The Abrams Environmental Law clinic attempts to solve some of the most pressing environmental problems throughout Chicago, the State of Illinois, and the Great Lakes region. On behalf of clients, the clinic challenges those who pollute illegally, fights for stricter permits, advocates for changes to regulations and laws, holds environmental agencies accountable, and develops innovative approaches for improving the environment. Through clinic participation, students learn substantive environmental law and procedures for addressing concerns through the courts or administrative tribunals. Students develop a number of core advocacy competencies, such as counseling clients, spotting issues, conducting factual investigations, performing practical legal research, advocating through written and oral communications, planning cases, managing time, and addressing ethical issues and dilemmas. In addition, students develop an appreciation for the range of strategic and tactical approaches that effective advocates use. Some matters will be best resolved in front of a judge, others in an adversarial hearing, others through face-to-face meetings with government officials, and others by putting public pressure on a polluter or administrative agency. Any given matter may require the use of one or more of these approaches simultaneously or sequentially, although in general, the clinic will deploy adversarial approaches to help achieve its clients’ objectives.
Students need to take a substantive environmental law at some point when they are in the clinic. They are not precluded from taking the class if they have not yet taken environmental law when they enroll in the clinic and are not able to do so their first quarter due to when courses are offered. Nonetheless, students do need to take an environmental law class (any of the main stand-up class, climate change, or international environmental law) at some point when they are in the clinic.
Autumn 2012
Mark N. Templeton
-
Abrams Environmental Law Clinic
LAWS 67813
- 01
(1 to 2)
+, a, s, x
The Abrams Environmental Law clinic attempts to solve some of the most pressing environmental problems throughout Chicago, the State of Illinois, and the Great Lakes region. On behalf of clients, the clinic challenges those who pollute illegally, fights for stricter permits, advocates for changes to regulations and laws, holds environmental agencies accountable, and develops innovative approaches for improving the environment. Through clinic participation, students learn substantive environmental law and procedures for addressing concerns through the courts or administrative tribunals. Students develop a number of core advocacy competencies, such as counseling clients, spotting issues, conducting factual investigations, performing practical legal research, advocating through written and oral communications, planning cases, managing time, and addressing ethical issues and dilemmas. In addition, students develop an appreciation for the range of strategic and tactical approaches that effective advocates use. Some matters will be best resolved in front of a judge, others in an adversarial hearing, others through face-to-face meetings with government officials, and others by putting public pressure on a polluter or administrative agency. Any given matter may require the use of one or more of these approaches simultaneously or sequentially, although in general, the clinic will deploy adversarial approaches to help achieve its clients’ objectives.
Students need to take a substantive environmental law at some point when they are in the clinic. They are not precluded from taking the class if they have not yet taken environmental law when they enroll in the clinic and are not able to do so their first quarter due to when courses are offered. Nonetheless, students do need to take an environmental law class (any of the main stand-up class, climate change, or international environmental law) at some point when they are in the clinic.
Spring 2013
Mark N. Templeton
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Accounting and Financial Analysis for Debt and Equity Markets and Transaction Structuring
LAWS 79103
- 01
(3)
s, x
This course is designed to quickly introduce you to (or, preferably, refresh your knowledge of) basic financial accounting [first two weeks of class] and then aims to aggressively increase your ability to be a highly sophisticated user of financial statements. After taking this course, you should improve your ability to determine a firm's accounting policy for a particular type of transaction and to determine how that policy choice affects its primary financial statements. You will also learn how to question whether these effects fairly reflect the underlying economics of the firm's transactions. Asking these questions involves an interplay between accounting, economics, finance, law and business strategy. You should therefore greatly improve your ability to use an accounting report as part of an overall assessment of the firm's strategy and the potential rewards and risks of dealing with the firm.
The teaching approach will be a roughly equal combination of lecture time and demanding case applications of the lecture material that will involve group case assignments that will form the basis for in-class discussion of the cases. The technical knowledge acquired from the lecture material is applied to cases where the main goal is to examine how the reported financial statements would differ if the firm had used different accounting policies. The focus is on modifying the reported financial statements in order to obtain the cleanest possible inputs for use in such applications as equity valuation, transaction structuring and credit analysis.
As this will be the first offering of this course, the precise topics to be discussed have not yet been finalized. They are likely to include the accounting for, and interpretation of: revenue recognition, intercorporate investments, organizational structures (e.g., franchising), debt, and leases. Intensive group hand-in cases will be used to illustrate how the flexibility in financial reporting can reflect both the economics of the firm and the incentives of the managers creating the financial statements.
It is strongly recommended that students registering for this course have some prior exposure to accounting course work, at least at the level of Fundamentals of Accounting for Attorneys (LAWS 79112) or Legal Elements of Accounting (LAWS 79102).
Grading will be based on case assignments, short homework assignments, class participation, and a final exam.
Spring 2013
Philip G. Berger
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Administrative Law
LAWS 46101
- 01
(3)
x
This course examines the structure of the administrative state, its relations to the other branches of government and private citizens, and the constitutional, statutory, and common law rules that govern the substance and procedure of administration action and inaction. The course focuses on some constitutional topics, including the non-delegation doctrine, presidential control over administrative agencies, and the delegation of adjudicative authority to non-Article III officers. Substantial attention is given to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and other statutory requirements for lawful agency action. Covered topics include the proper role of agencies in interpreting statutory and regulatory law; judicial review of agency decisions; public participation in agency rulemaking; and non-traditional approaches to regulation, including negotiation and privatization. A central theme of the course is how the law manages the tension between rule of law values (e.g., procedural regularity, accountability, and substantive limits on arbitrary action) and the desire for flexible, effective administrative governance.
The student's grade is based on class participation and a final examination.
Winter 2013
Jennifer Nou
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Administrative Law
LAWS 46101
- 01
(3)
x
This course examines the structure of the administrative state, its relations to the other branches of government and private citizens, and the constitutional, statutory, and common law rules that govern the substance and procedure of administration action and inaction. The course focuses on some constitutional topics, including the non-delegation doctrine, presidential control over administrative agencies, and the delegation of adjudicative authority to non-Article III officers. Substantial attention is given to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and other statutory requirements for lawful agency action. Covered topics include the proper role of agencies in interpreting statutory and regulatory law; judicial review of agency decisions; public participation in agency rulemaking; and non-traditional approaches to regulation, including negotiation and privatization. A central theme of the course is how the law manages the tension between rule of law values (e.g., procedural regularity, accountability, and substantive limits on arbitrary action) and the desire for flexible, effective administrative governance.
The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Autumn 2012
Nicholas Stephanopoulos
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Admiralty Law
LAWS 71001
- 01
(3)
This course will cover the development and scope of this part of the jurisdiction of the federal courts, the role of the Supreme Court in the common law development of the substantive law of the admiralty, and several of the main elements of substantive maritime law: maritime torts, industrial accidents, collisions, salvage, and limitation of liability.
The student's grade is based on class participation and a final take-home examination.
Autumn 2012
Randall D. Schmidt
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Advanced Civil Procedure
LAWS 52502
- 01
(3)
This course examines salient features of major civil litigation from both a practitioner's and a policymaker's perspective. Broadly, these features fall into two categories: issues with forum and aggregation on the one hand, and problems with the collection and production of evidence on the other. Topics in the first category include class actions and arbitration. Topics in the second category include electronic discovery and expert testimony. In addition, this course studies how the federal rulemaking process, statutes, and judicial decisions compete to define the procedures that govern civil litigation.
The student's grade is based on class participation and (primarily) a final examination.
Winter 2013
William H. J. Hubbard
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Advanced Contracts: Sales, a Practice Oriented Approach
LAWS 48601
- 01
(2)
m, x
This seminar is an advanced contracts offering that focuses on Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. It is designed to give students a bridge from school to practice and will involve a series of problems leading up to a negotiation and drafting simulation to help students integrate what they learn in theory into the sorts of tasks they will face as a transactional lawyer.
Spring 2013
Lisa Bernstein
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Advanced Law and Economics: Theory and Practice
LAWS 55401
- 01
(3)
c/l
This seminar examines theoretical and empirical work in the economic analysis of law. It will cover, among other things, optimal tort rules, models of contract liability and remedies, optimal criminal rules, settlement and plea bargaining, and models of judicial behavior.
Students are required to be PhD students in the Economics Department, the Harris School or the Booth School, or law students. Students should have the equivalent of an undergraduate economics degree or have taken Economic Analysis of the Law in the Law School. The course will expect students to have Economics PhD-level math skills.
Students will be required to submit 3-4 short research proposals related to topics covered in class. These proposals are sketches of original research that, once developed, could yield publishable academic papers.
Spring 2013
Anup Malani
-
Advanced Legal Research
LAWS 79802
- 01
(2 to 3)
m, s, x
The purpose of this seminar is to enhance students' knowledge of legal sources and to develop their ability to research the law. The seminar will cover the basic categories of legal research in depth and with a focus on practical skills and efficiency, including statutes, administrative law, legislative history, cases, and secondary sources. This seminar also will address a series of practice areas such as corporate and securities, tax, transactional, federal procedure, and intellectual property, focusing on the substantive resources and practical research skills for each. Upon successful completion of the seminar, students will expand their understanding of research resources in a variety of areas, will improve their skills in using legal research tools, and will develop extensive research knowledge in at least one area from their work on a final research paper.
The seminar will be limited to twenty-five students with priority to third year students.
To receive credit for this seminar, students must complete research assignments (30 percent of grade), submit a research paper on a topic approved by the instructor (60 percent of grade), and attend and participate in course meetings (10 percent).
Students may earn either 2 or 3 credits for this seminar depending upon the number of assignments completed and the length of their final paper (minimum 20 pages for 3 credits; 10 pages for 2 credits).
In the research paper, the student should extensively and comprehensively address sources for researching the topic, discuss successful and less useful techniques, and recommend research strategies.
Autumn 2012
Sheri H. Lewis
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Advanced Legal Research
LAWS 79802
- 01
(2 to 3)
m, s, x
The purpose of this seminar is to enhance students' knowledge of legal sources and to develop their ability to research the law. The seminar will cover the basic categories of legal research in depth and with a focus on practical skills and efficiency, including statutes, administrative law, legislative history, cases, and secondary sources. This seminar also will address a series of practice areas such as corporate and securities, tax, transactional, federal procedure, and intellectual property, focusing on the substantive resources and practical research skills for each. Upon successful completion of the seminar, students will expand their understanding of research resources in a variety of areas, will improve their skills in using legal research tools, and will develop extensive research knowledge in at least one area from their work on a final research paper.
The seminar will be limited to twenty-five students with priority to third year students.
To receive credit for this seminar, students must complete research assignments (30 percent of grade), submit a research paper on a topic approved by the instructor (60 percent of grade), and attend and participate in course meetings (10 percent).
Students may earn either 2 or 3 credits for this seminar depending upon the number of assignments completed and the length of their final paper.
A 20-25 page paper will be required for the 3-credit option for this course, along with 4 research assignments. For the 2-credit option for this course, students will write a 10-15 page paper and complete 2 research assignments. Research assignments will count towards 30% of the final grade; the research paper 60%. Class participation counts for 10%.
In the research paper, the student should extensively and comprehensively address sources for researching the topic, discuss successful and less useful techniques, and recommend research strategies.
Winter 2013
Margaret Schilt, Todd Ito
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Advanced Legal Writing
LAWS 79901
- 01
(2)
+, s, w, x
This course will prepare law students for the working world by honing writing skills for briefs, memoranda, motions and contracts. We will discuss and practice the major principles of legal writing in plain English -- no jargon, no legalese, no anachronistic fluff. In addition to fine-tuning basic and more advanced writing skills, students will learn how to use their writing to win arguments, persuade clients and sharpen their own thinking. The class will function largely as a workshop where we analyze the impact of various writing styles. Regular attendance is essential. Through exercises and group critiques, students will learn to write more succinctly and effectively. Better writers make better lawyers.
The course concludes with an eight-hour take-home examination, which determines the student's grade. Students must complete all assignments before the exam.
This course satisfies the requirements of the Writing Project writing requirement.
Legal Research and Writing is a pre-requisite.
Autumn 2012
Elizabeth Duquette
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Advanced Trademarks and Unfair Competition
LAWS 69902
- 01
(2 to 3)
+, m, w, x
This seminar addresses current issues and developments such as the Supreme Court's shaping of trademark law over time; the interplay of trademark, right of publicity, and First Amendment law; dilution and the courts' treatment of property conceptions of trademarks; the effect of commercial practices on trademark doctrine, as exemplified by the keyword debate; utilitarian and aesthetic functionality and other limitations on trademark rights; counterfeiting, contributory infringement, and the online marketplace; and unfair competition and misappropriation conceptions of trade identity rights.
Trademarks and Unfair Competition is a prerequisite for the seminar; otherwise instructors' permission is required.
Enrollment is limited to twenty-five students.
A student's grade is based on class participation and either a series of thought papers for two credits, or a series of short research papers totaling at least 25 pages, or a major research paper, both for three credits.
Winter 2013
Chad J. Doellinger, Uli Widmaier
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American Law and the Rhetoric of Race
LAWS 49801
- 01
(3)
c/l
This course presents an episodic study of the ways in which American law has treated legal issues involving race. Two episodes are studied in detail: the criminal law of slavery during the antebellum period and the constitutional attack on state-imposed segregation in the twentieth century. The case method is used, although close attention is paid to litigation strategy as well as to judicial opinions.
Undergraduate students must request faculty consent prior to registration.
Grades are based on class participation and a final examination.
Spring 2013
Dennis J. Hutchinson
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American Legal History, 1607-1870
LAWS 97601
- 01
(3)
c/l, e, x
This survey course examines major themes and interpretations in the history of American law and legal institutions from the earliest European settlements through the Civil War. Topics include continuity and change between English and American law in the colonial period, the American Revolution and its legal consequences, changing understandings of the U.S. Constitution, the legal status of women and African Americans, federalism, commerce, slavery, and the constitutional and legal consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
The student's grade will be based on a take-home final examination and class participation.
Spring 2013
Alison LaCroix
-
An Introduction To Doing Empirical Microeconomic Research
LAWS 99303
- 01
(3)
c/l
This course is designed to give students early in their graduate careers exposure to carrying out their own empirical micro-focused research. Attention will be paid to every step in the process: idea generation, the use of data, identifying the right tools to answer the question at hand, testing hypotheses, making arguments convincing, etc. These issues will be discussed through evaluation of both outstanding papers in the literature, and papers that fail to achieve their full potential. Students will be expected to carry out their own original empirical research to meet the course requirements.
Winter 2013
Steven Levitt
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Antitrust Law
LAWS 42801
- 01
(3)
x
This course provides an introduction to the law of antitrust. The course focuses on the practices by which competing firms eliminate, or are alleged to eliminate, competition among themselves. The practices considered include formal cartels, price-fixing conspiracies, conscious parallelism, trade association activities, resale price maintenance, and mergers to monopoly and other types of horizontal merger. The course also looks at the practices by which firms, either singly or in combination, exclude actual or potential competitors from their markets, by means of practices such as boycotts, predatory pricing, tying arrangements, vertical integration, and price discrimination under the Robinson-Patman Act. Both price and non-price vertical restrictions are considered.
The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Autumn 2012
Randal C. Picker
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Antitrust Law
LAWS 42801
- 01
(3)
This course provides an introduction to the law of antitrust. The course focuses first on the practices by which competing firms eliminate, or are alleged to eliminate, competition among themselves. The practices considered include formal cartels, price-fixing conspiracies, "conscious parallelism," trade association activities, resale price maintenance, and mergers to monopoly and other types of horizontal merger. The course then looks at the practices by which firms, either singly or in combination, exclude actual or potential competitors from their markets, by means of practices such as boycotts, tying arrangements, vertical integration, and price discrimination under the Robinson-Patman Act. Both price and non-price vertical restrictions are considered.
The student's grade is based on class participation and a final three-hour take-home examination.
Spring 2013
Andrew M. Rosenfield
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Art Law
LAWS 79301
- 01
(3)
c/l, m, x
This seminar examines legal issues in the visual arts including artist's rights and copyright, government regulation of the art market, valuation problems related to authentication and artist estates, disputes over the ownership of art, illicit international trade of art, government funding of museums and artists, and First Amendment issues as they relate to museums and artists.
The basis of the grade will be class participation and three short papers.
The class will meet at 4 p.m., as follows:
March 28 (Thursday)
April 4 (Thursday)
April 9 (Tuesday)
April 11 (Thursday)
No class on April 18
April 23 (Tuesday)
April 25 (Thursday)
No class on May 2
May 9 (Thursday)
May 16 (Thursday)
Spring 2013
Anthony Hirschel, William M. Landes
