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Banking Law
LAWS 80201
- 01
(3)
x
This course will consider the regulation of banks and other financial institutions in the United States. The focus will be on the current regulatory scheme, with some attention to the recent financial crisis, the history of banking regulation, and proposals for reform.
The student's grade will be based on a proctored final examination.
Winter 2013
Eric Posner
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Bankruptcy and Reorganization: The Federal Bankruptcy Code
LAWS 73601
- 01
(3)
x
This course studies the Federal Bankruptcy Code, including both the law of individual bankruptcy and the law of corporate reorganization. Topics include the rights of creditors in bankruptcy, the individual's right to discharge, the relationship between bankruptcy law and state law, the treatment of executory contracts, bankruptcy planning, the restructuring of corporations in Chapter 11, and the procedure for confirming plans of reorganization.
There are no prerequistes for this course.
Autumn 2012
Anthony Casey
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Bankruptcy and Reorganization: The Federal Bankruptcy Code
LAWS 73601
- 01
(3)
x
This course surveys the Federal Bankruptcy Code, including both the law of individual bankruptcy and the law of corporate reorganization. Topics include the rights of creditors in bankruptcy, the individual's right to discharge, the relationship between bankruptcy law and state law, the treatment of executory contracts, bankruptcy planning, and the restructuring of corporations in Chapter 11.
A deeper exploration of current issues in corporate restructuring is available in "Corporate Reorganizations," taught by Mr. Baird.
The student's grade will be based on a proctored final examination.
Open to MBA students.
Winter 2013
Edward Morrison
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Brief-writing and Appellate Advocacy Seminar
LAWS 79905
- 01
(3)
m, s, w, x
This seminar will be devoted to the art of brief-writing and appellate advocacy. Topics will include how to select the best arguments, how to choose a theme and structure the facts and the argument, and how to write the brief in a way that it is clear, concise and persuasive on the first read.
Grades will be based on class participation and two papers -- an opening brief and a reply.
Spring 2013
Michele Odorizzi
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Business Associations I
LAWS 42303
- 01
(3)
+, x
Business Associations I is the first in a two-quarter sequence of courses on the law governing modern business firms. The main focus is on corporations but some attention is paid, less systematically, to partnerships and limited liability associations such as LLCs.
The first quarter covers the life cycle of business associations, from formation through operations and dissolution, with particular concern for the obligations of managers and the rights and interests of owners and other stakeholders.
Business Associations I is not open to students who have taken, or are currently taking, the Corporation Law course or the Business Organizations course.
The student’s grade will be based on a proctored final examination.
Autumn 2012
Joseph Isenbergh
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Business Associations II
LAWS 42304
- 01
(3)
+
Business Associations II is the second in a two-quarter sequence of courses on the law governing modern business firms. The main focus is on corporations but some attention is paid, less systematically, to partnerships and limited liability associations such as LLCs.
The second quarter is concerned mainly with situations in which control of a firm comes into play: these include mergers and acquisitions along with other situations where control is transferred, abused, or substantially redistributed.
The student’s grade will be based on a proctored final examination.
It is recommended, but not strictly required, to take Business Associations I before taking Business Associations II. This course, like Business Associations I, is not open to students who have taken, or are currently taking, the basic Corporation Law course, Business Organizations or Advanced Corporations: Mergers and Acquisitions.
Winter 2013
Joseph Isenbergh
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Business Organizations
LAWS 42301
- 01
(3)
+, x
This is an introductory course on the law of business organizations. While we will focus primarily on corporate law, we will also cover agency and partnership law and emerging legal entities such as limited liability partnerships and limited liability companies.
The class is not open to students who are taking, or have taken, Business Associations I, Business Associations II or Corporation Law.
The student's grade is based on a proctored final examination.
Winter 2013
Anthony Casey
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Business Perspectives on Workplace Privacy
LAWS 68315
- 01
(2)
m, x
This seminar will explore issues of workplace privacy from the practical perspective of an attorney advising a business. Topics will include electronic surveillance, drug testing, genetic testing, psychological testing, polygraphs, social media issues, and employer control of off-duty activities. The class will also look at some comparative law issues in workplace privacy that may face employers. Readings will include court cases, applicable legislation and secondary materials. While familiarizing themselves with the various legal frameworks applicable to workplace privacy, students will also develop skills in offering legal advice in areas that are not yet clear under existing law.
Spring 2013
Victoria Schwartz
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Buyouts
LAWS 42602
- 01
(3)
m, w, x
In this seminar we will examine going private transactions in which publicly held companies are acquired by affiliates of private equity firms with the participation of the company's management or by controlling shareholders. This is an especially timely topic because management buyouts have become prevalent and controlling shareholder buyouts continue to be controversial. Both types of transactions raise conflict of interest issues because some of the company's directors or officers, who are ordinarily charged with obtaining as much as possible for public shareholders in a sale transaction, are instead attempting to buy the company for as little as possible. We will examine the methods that Delaware law has provided for dealing with these conflicts of interest and whether those methods are likely to be effective. We will also look at a variety of other issues raised by going private transactions, including why they occur, whether they are likely to be beneficial to shareholders in spite of the existence of conflicts of interest, the consequences to society of these transactions and certain conflict and other issues that can arise in these transactions even if they are neither management or controlling shareholder buyouts. Finally, we will examine the role of the lawyers and financial advisors who are involved in these transactions.
Grades will be based on a paper and class participation.
Some of the topics in this course will also be covered less intensively in Mergers and Acquisitions, but that course is not a prerequisite for this course and students may take both courses.
Spring 2013
Scott Davis
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Canonical Ideas in Legal Thought
LAWS 57013
- 01
(2)
+, a, m, r
This year-long research seminar is the equivalent of a research colloquium in a PhD program. During the fall quarter, students will read, discuss, and critique some of the most influential law review articles from the twentieth century, as well as newer papers that extend and apply those canonical ideas to modern legal problems. The readings will consist of a healthy mix of public law and private law, and various scholarly methodologies. During the fall, students will write short reaction papers on the readings, and each student will once during the term facilitate the class discussion of an article. Students will also identify a topic for a substantial research paper. During the winter quarter, the seminar will not meet in formal sessions, but each student will work on his or her research paper and will meet individually with the instructors to assess the paper’s progress. During the spring quarter, the seminar will reconvene, and students will workshop their drafts (i.e., each student will circulate his or her draft in advance and answer questions from students and faculty). Students are expected to produce papers of publishable quality because the seminar’s ultimate goal is to prepare students for the process of entering the legal academy.
Students will receive a fall quarter grade based on the reaction papers and class participation. Students will receive a separate grade for the winter and spring quarters based on the quality of their research papers and class participation. Every student must enroll for the entire year; students may not drop the class after the fall quarter.
Students may only enroll with the permission of the instructors.
Students interested in enrolling should email Professors Miles and Strahilevitz a resume and a one-page statement explaining why they would like to enroll in the seminar no later than September 7.
Spring 2013
Thomas J. Miles, Lior Strahilevitz
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Canonical Ideas in Legal Thought
LAWS 57013
- 01
(2)
+, a, m, r
This year-long research seminar is the equivalent of a research colloquium in a PhD program. During the fall quarter, students will read, discuss, and critique some of the most influential law review articles from the twentieth century, as well as newer papers that extend and apply those canonical ideas to modern legal problems. The readings will consist of a healthy mix of public law and private law, and various scholarly methodologies. During the fall, students will write short reaction papers on the readings, and each student will once during the term facilitate the class discussion of an article. Students will also identify a topic for a substantial research paper. During the winter quarter, the seminar will not meet in formal sessions, but each student will work on his or her research paper and will meet individually with the instructors to assess the paper’s progress. During the spring quarter, the seminar will reconvene, and students will workshop their drafts (i.e., each student will circulate his or her draft in advance and answer questions from students and faculty). Students are expected to produce papers of publishable quality because the seminar’s ultimate goal is to prepare students for the process of entering the legal academy.
Students will receive a fall quarter grade based on the reaction papers and class participation. Students will receive a separate grade for the winter and spring quarters based on the quality of their research papers and class participation. Every student must enroll for the entire year; students may not drop the class after the fall quarter.
Students may only enroll with the permission of the instructors.
Students interested in enrolling should email Professors Miles and Strahilevitz a resume and a one-page statement explaining why they would like to enroll in the seminar no later than September 7.
Winter 2013
Thomas J. Miles, Lior Strahilevitz
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Canonical Ideas in Legal Thought
LAWS 57013
- 01
(2)
+, m
This year-long research seminar is the equivalent of a research colloquium in a PhD program. During the fall quarter, students will read, discuss, and critique some of the most influential law review articles from the twentieth century, as well as newer papers that extend and apply those canonical ideas to modern legal problems. The readings will consist of a healthy mix of public law and private law, and various scholarly methodologies. During the fall, students will write short reaction papers on the readings, and each student will once during the term facilitate the class discussion of an article. Students will also identify a topic for a substantial research paper. During the winter quarter, the seminar will not meet in formal sessions, but each student will work on his or her research paper and will meet individually with the instructors to assess the paper’s progress. During the spring quarter, the seminar will reconvene, and students will workshop their drafts (i.e., each student will circulate his or her draft in advance and answer questions from students and faculty). Students are expected to produce papers of publishable quality because the seminar’s ultimate goal is to prepare students for the process of entering the legal academy.
Students will receive a fall quarter grade based on the reaction papers and class participation. Students will receive a separate grade for the winter and spring quarters based on the quality of their research papers and class participation. Every student must enroll for the entire year; students may not drop the class after the fall quarter.
Students may only enroll with the permission of the instructors.
Students interested in enrolling should email Professors Miles and Strahilevitz a resume and a one-page statement explaining why they would like to enroll in the seminar no later than September 7.
Autumn 2012
Thomas J. Miles, Lior Strahilevitz
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Capital Punishment in America
LAWS 99703
- 01
(3)
+
This course provides a general introduction to death penalty law and practice in the United States. We will explore the constitutional and legal structure of capital punishment (i.e., common law authority, state and federal statutes), the procedures regulating capital trials, judicial and executive review, and the seminal social scientific literature analyzing important aspects of capital charging-and-sentencing systems (e.g., deterrence, incapacitation, cost, wrongful convictions, arbitrariness/capriciousness, and bias).
Grading will be based on regular attendance, in-class participation, and a final examination.
Spring 2013
Sherod Thaxton
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Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking
LAWS 47103
- 01
(3)
m, w, x
This seminar provides a comprehensive, practical introduction to the history and present-day reality of child sexual exploitation, as well as to the interconnected web of domestic and transnational federal laws and law enforcement efforts launched in response to this global challenge. The seminar will use a text written by the professor and a colleague who have the distinctive perspective of two individuals who have spent their careers in the trenches investigating, prosecuting, and adjudicating these intricate and commonly emotional cases. The seminar will offer open debate about child sexual abuse by stripping it of its unhelpful, constricted definitions, and by candidly discussing the state of the law, the criminal justice process, and the treatment of offenders and victims. The seminar examines today's system of federal anti-exploitation laws; the connection between modern communications technologies, such as the Internet, and the rise in U.S. and foreign child exploitation; the unique challenges posed by transnational investigations; organized crime's increasing domination over the commercial sexual exploitation of children; the current state of the U.S. government's transnational anti-trafficking efforts; the myriad international legal instruments designed to enhance transnational enforcement efforts; how, during investigations and trials, to avoid re-injuring the child-victims; the hallmarks of an effective trial strategy; the most promising investigative and trial avenues for the defense; and, what contemporary research tells us about charging and sentencing-related issues, including victimization and recidivism rates.
Taught by federal district court judge, Hon. Virginia M. Kendall. Students will be graded on class participation and a major paper.
Winter 2013
Virginia Kendall
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Civil Procedure I
LAWS 30211
- 01
(3)
1L
Civil Procedure is offered in two parts. Part I meets in the Autumn Quarter and addresses the mechanics of civil litigation, with special reference to pleading, discovery, and trial, including the respective roles of judge and jury. Part II is offered in the Spring Quarter and focuses on the study of the power of particular courts to decide cases (subject matter jurisdiction); jurisdiction of the courts over the person or things before them; the scope and effect of judgments; principles of finality of judgments; and the rules governing joinder of claims and parties.
The student's grade is based on an examination given at the end of each quarter.
Autumn 2012
William H. J. Hubbard
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Civil Procedure I
LAWS 30211
- 02
(3)
1L
Civil Procedure is offered in two parts. Part I meets in the Autumn Quarter and addresses the mechanics of civil litigation, with special reference to pleading, discovery, and trial, including the respective roles of judge and jury. Part II is offered in the Spring Quarter and focuses on the study of the power of particular courts to decide cases (subject matter jurisdiction); jurisdiction of the courts over the person or things before them; the scope and effect of judgments; principles of finality of judgments; and the rules governing joinder of claims and parties.
The student's grade is based on an examination given at the end of each quarter.
Autumn 2012
Emily Buss
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Civil Procedure II
LAWS 30221
- 01
(3)
1L
Civil Procedure is offered in two parts. Part I meets in the Autumn Quarter and addresses the mechanics of civil litigation, with special reference to pleading, discovery, and trial, including the respective roles of judge and jury. Part II is offered in the Spring Quarter and focuses on the study of the power of particular courts to decide cases (subject-matter jurisdiction); jurisdiction of the courts over the person or things before them; the scope and effect of judgments; principles of finality of judgments; and the rules governing joinder of claims and parties.
The student's grade is based on an examination given at the end of each quarter.
Spring 2013
Anthony Casey
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Civil Procedure II
LAWS 30221
- 02
(3)
1L
Civil Procedure is offered in two parts. Part I meets in the Autumn Quarter and addresses the mechanics of civil litigation, with special reference to pleading, discovery, and trial, including the respective roles of judge and jury. Part II is offered in the Spring Quarter and focuses on the study of the power of particular courts to decide cases (subject-matter jurisdiction); jurisdiction of the courts over the person or things before them; the scope and effect of judgments; principles of finality of judgments; and the rules governing joinder of claims and parties.
The student's grade is based on an examination given at the end of each quarter.
Spring 2013
William H. J. Hubbard
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Civil Rights Clinic: Police Accountability
LAWS 90913
- 01
(1)
+, a, s, w, x
The Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project (PAP) is one of the nation’s leading law civil rights clinics focusing on issues of criminal justice. Through the lens of live-client work, students examine how and where litigation fits into broader efforts to improve police accountability and ultimately the criminal justice system.
Students provide legal services to indigent victims of police abuse in federal and state courts. They litigate civil rights cases at each level of the court system from trial through appeals. Some students also represent children and adults in related juvenile or criminal defense matters.
Students take primary responsibility for all aspects of the litigation, including client counseling, fact investigation, case strategy, witness interviews, legal research, pleadings and legal memoranda, discovery, depositions, motion practice, evidentiary hearings, trials, and appeals. A significant amount of legal writing is expected. Students work in teams on cases or projects, and meet with the instructor on at minimum a weekly basis.
Students also take primary responsibility for the Clinic’s policy and public education work. PAP teaches students to apply and critically examine legal theory in the context of representation of people in need. It teaches students to analyze how and why individual cases of abuse occur and to connect them to systemic problems, often leading to “public impact” litigation and other strategies for policy reform. Through our immersion in live client work, we engage fundamental issues of race, class, and gender, and their intersection with legal institutions. We instruct students in legal ethics and advocacy skills. And we seek to instill in them a public service ethos, as they begin their legal careers.
Students are required to complete, prior to their third year, Evidence, Criminal Procedure I, and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop. Constitutional Law III is also recommended.
Autumn 2012
Craig B. Futterman
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Civil Rights Clinic: Police Accountability
LAWS 90913
- 01
(1)
+, a, s, w
The Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project (PAP) is one of the nation’s leading law civil rights clinics focusing on issues of criminal justice. Through the lens of live-client work, students examine how and where litigation fits into broader efforts to improve police accountability and ultimately the criminal justice system.
Students provide legal services to indigent victims of police abuse in federal and state courts. They litigate civil rights cases at each level of the court system from trial through appeals. Some students also represent children and adults in related juvenile or criminal defense matters.
Students take primary responsibility for all aspects of the litigation, including client counseling, fact investigation, case strategy, witness interviews, legal research, pleadings and legal memoranda, discovery, depositions, motion practice, evidentiary hearings, trials, and appeals. A significant amount of legal writing is expected. Students work in teams on cases or projects, and meet with the instructor on at minimum a weekly basis.
Students also take primary responsibility for the Clinic’s policy and public education work. PAP teaches students to apply and critically examine legal theory in the context of representation of people in need. It teaches students to analyze how and why individual cases of abuse occur and to connect them to systemic problems, often leading to “public impact” litigation and other strategies for policy reform. Through our immersion in live client work, we engage fundamental issues of race, class, and gender, and their intersection with legal institutions. We instruct students in legal ethics and advocacy skills. And we seek to instill in them a public service ethos, as they begin their legal careers.
Students are required to complete, prior to their third year, Evidence, Criminal Procedure I, and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop. Constitutional Law III is also recommended.
Winter 2013
Craig B. Futterman
