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Jurisprudence I: Theories of Law and Adjudication
LAWS 47411
- 01
(3)
e, x
An examination of classic jurisprudential questions in and around the theory of adjudication: the theory of how judges actually do decide cases and how they ought to decide them. These questions include: Do legal rules really constrain judicial decision-making? What makes a rule (or norm) a rule of the legal system? Are principles of morality legally binding even when such principles have not been enacted into a law by a legislature? (Relatedly, are there objective principles of morality?) When no legal norm controls a case, how ought judges to decide that case? Can there be right answers to legal disputes, even when informed judges and lawyers disagree about the answer? Are there principles or methods of legal reasoning that constrain judicial decision-making, or is legal reasoning essentially indeterminate, such that a skillful judge can justify more than one outcome for any given dispute? Is judicial decision-making really distinct from political decision-making of the sort legislators engage in? Readings drawn exclusively from major twentieth-century schools of thought - especially American Legal Realism (e.g., Karl Llewellyn, Jerome Frank), Natural Law (e.g., Ronald Dworkin, John Finnis), and Legal Positivism (e.g., H.L.A. Hart, Joseph Raz) - supplemented by other pertinent readings (from Leslie Green, Richard Posner, and the instructor, among others). No familiarity with either jurisprudence or philosophy will be presupposed, though some readings will be philosophically demanding, and the course will sometimes venture into (and explain) cognate philosophical issues in philosophy of language and metaethics as they are relevant to the core jurisprudential questions.
Attendance at the first session is mandatory for those who want to enroll.
Take-home essay exam.
Spring 2014
Brian Leiter
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Labor History and the Law
LAWS 92103
- 01
(3)
c/l, m, r, w, x
This seminar examines the historical relationship between American workers and the law. It focuses on legal contests over workers’ rights in the courts, legislatures, and administrative agencies during the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Readings explore the ways in which law has shaped labor solidarity, class formation, and strategies for organization and resistance. They also consider the influence of organized labor and of labor law on mobilization for social change, including the movements for civil liberties and civil rights. The seminar concludes by exploring current trends in American labor relations, including recent efforts to curtail the collective bargaining rights of public employees.
Autumn 2013
Laura Weinrib
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Labor Law
LAWS 43101
- 01
(3)
This course examines the statutory, administrative, and judicial law governing collective labor relations. The principal subjects are union organizing and collective bargaining, with particular attention to the National Labor Relations Act. Students consider the strategies adopted by labor groups, employers, and legal actors in response to evolving economic and social conditions. The course draws on historical and comparative perspectives to evaluate emerging alternatives to the existing labor law regime.
Grading is based on class participation and a final examination.
Winter 2014
Laura Weinrib
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Land Use
LAWS 61301
- 01
(3)
Few areas of law have as immediate an impact on our lived environment than the law of land use. This course will provide a broad introduction to the theory, doctrine, and history of land use regulation. Topics will include zoning, homeowners’ associations, nuisance, suburban sprawl, eminent domain and regulatory takings. Throughout, we will discuss the ways land use regulation affects important human values, such as economic efficiency, distributive justice, social relations, and the environment. Readings will be drawn from the leading cases as well as commentary by scholars in the fields of law, architecture, and planning.
Spring 2014
Eduardo Peñalver
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Law and Advances in Medicine
LAWS 93302
- 01
(3)
c/l, m, w, x
This seminar will address the intersection of medicine, science, and law, focusing on issues related to human research, informed consent, the "new genetics," and other advances in biotechnology.
Enrollment is limited to 10 students.
Students will write a significant research paper, submitted in three stages, which can be used to satisfy the Writing Project requirement and which will count for 50 percent of the grade.
A Writing Project paper can be submitted on the first day of the following quarter.
The other 50 percent of the grade will be based on class participation.
Spring 2014
Julie Gage Palmer
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Law and Literature
LAWS 99302
- 01
(2)
m, x
In the profession of Law, words and stories are critical. It is no coincidence that much of our greatest literature has issues of law as its main theme. Both law and literature use the literary imagination to construct a persuasive and engaging dramatic narrative. The similarities found in legal and literary uses of narrative and the frequency of legal themes in fiction provide the skilled reader many opportunities to better understand both law and literature through a study of their intersection.
In this seminar, we will use the connections between law and literature to examine the development of law and the role of narrative in the practice of law. Through readings and discussion of great literature, we will critically analyze legal themes from their pre-law beginnings as wild justice through the development of law as an institution. We will apply the critical reading skills that are so essential in the interpretation of constitutions, statutes, rules, judicial opinions and documents to the understanding of literary texts, for which they are equally essential. To provide us with imaginative illustrations of legal issues, we will read selections ranging from Beowulf, Plato, Sophocles, Shakespeare and Milton, to works by Kafka, Tolstoy and Melville.
Winter 2014
Randy Berlin
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Law and Religion
LAWS 97522
- 01
(3)
This course will cover the constitutional law of religion as well as related statutes, such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and antidiscrimination laws Topics will include free exercise accommodations, religious expression in public spaces, the relationship between religion and the state, and the significance of religious institutions.
Winter 2014
Eduardo Peñalver
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Law and the Mental Health System
LAWS 47001
- 01
(3)
r, w
The course examines the interrelationship between legal doctrine; procedural rules; medical, cultural, and social scientific understandings of mental disability; and institutional arrangements affecting the provision of services to the mentally disabled. Consideration is given to admission to and discharge from mental health facilities, to competency to consent to or to refuse treatment, to surrogate decision-making for those found incompetent, to the rights of those confined in mental health facilities; to discrimination against the mentally disabled, and to the rights of the mentally disabled in the criminal justice system.
Grades are based on a final paper or a final take-home exam, and class participation.
Autumn 2013
Mark J. Heyrman
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Leadership
LAWS 75102
- 01
(2 to 3)
+, m, r, s, w
The divide between law and business is becoming increasingly blurred as clients look to their lawyers not merely for legal advice but also for leadership and results-focused solutions to complex business problems. Increasing competition, early specialization, and client cost constraints provide junior attorneys with few opportunities to develop the skills necessary to meet these increasing expectations. Through this highly intensive seminar, students will develop the judgment and practical skills necessary to become effective leaders and problem solvers, as well as an understanding of the theoretical foundations of effective leadership. Topics will include project management, strategic vision, forms of influence, and business leadership. Materials will include cutting-edge research, case histories, videos, and literature. Class sessions occasionally will include speakers who have played important leadership roles.
The student's grade will be based on active and insightful class participation, reflection papers on assigned readings, and a final paper on an instructor-approved topic of the student's choosing (examples of potential topics include leadership in alliance formation, variations in governing board structures, performance consequences of executive succession, and leadership in outsourcing relationships). The seminar will require substantial out of class work and class participation will count toward the grade. Students will be developing leadership presentations and completing major projects outside of class. Enrollment is very limited given the unique nature of this seminar, and instructor approval is required. If there is sufficient student interest, there may be a follow-on leadership seminar offered in the Spring.
A 2-credit option is available with permission of instructor.
Winter 2014
David Zarfes
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Leading, Following, and Parting Ways
LAWS 75104
- 01
(3)
m, x
How does one become a leader? Are leaders born or are they made? Do all leaders employ the same leadership style? What is the proper relationship between leaders and those they lead? This seminar will answer these questions by helping students to think critically about what makes for successful leadership and self-aware followership. Lessons and examples are drawn from history, literature, philosophy, politics, business, and law. The seminar is broken into two parts. In the first part, we will examine the moral psychology of leadership by reading works from Adam Smith, Benjamin Franklin, William Shakespeare, and Thorstein Veblen, among others. In the second part, we will examine the perils and possibilities for those who are members, but not heads, of a common enterprise. The authors we will discuss include Frederick Winslow Taylor, Karl Marx, George Orwell, and Michael Lewis.
Spring 2014
John Paul Rollert
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Legal Elements of Accounting
LAWS 79102
- 01
(1)
s
This mini-course introduces accounting from a mixed law and business perspective. It covers basic concepts and vocabulary of accounting, not so much to instill proficiency with the mechanics of debits and credits as to serve as a foundation from which to understand financial statements. The course then examines accounting from a legal perspective, including consideration of common accounting decisions with potential legal ramifications. It also analyzes throughout the reasons for and roles of financial accounting and auditing, as well as the incentives of various persons involved in producing, regulating, and consuming financial accounting information. The course will touch on some limitations of, and divergent results possible under, generally accepted accounting principles. Current cases, proposals, and controversies will be discussed.
Attendance and participation will be very important.
Grades will be based on a take-home final examination.
Students with substantial prior exposure to accounting (such as students with an MBA, joint MBA/JD, and undergraduate finance or accounting majors) may not take the course for credit.
Class will meet for nine sessions, five days during week 1 (M-F Jan 6-10, 2014) and four days during week 3 (T-F Jan 21-24, 2014), and completion earns one credit.
Winter 2014
John Sylla
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Legal Issues in International Transactions
LAWS 42504
- 01
(3)
This course explores the complex legal and political issues common in international transactions. It provides a brief introduction to a range of potential challenges for corporations engaging in international transactions including choice of law issues, extraterritorial regulation, international arbitration and investment rules, enforcement of arbitral awards, and compliance with the Alien Tort Statute and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, among other areas.
Grades will be determined through a final examination.
Winter 2014
Daniel Abebe
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Legal Profession
LAWS 41002
- 01
(3)
p, x
This course, which satisfies the professional responsibility requirement, will consider the law and the ethics governing lawyers. Among the topics that will be examined are the nature of the lawyer-client relationship, competency, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and some fundamental questions about who we are and what we stand for as lawyers.
A student's grade is based on a final examination.
This class will be capped at 50.
Spring 2014
Barry Alberts
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Legal Profession
LAWS 41002
- 01
(3)
p, x
This course, which satisfies the professional responsibility requirement, will consider the law and the ethics governing lawyers. Among the topics that will be examined are the nature of the lawyer-client relationship, competency, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and some fundamental questions about who we are and what we stand for as lawyers.
A student's grade is based on a final examination.
This class will be capped at 50.
Autumn 2013
Barry Alberts
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Legal Profession: Ethics
LAWS 41002
- 02
(3)
m, p, w, x
This seminar addresses ethical considerations raised during the practice of law, including strategic, practical, and moral considerations with which attorneys should be familiar. Using materials from a leading casebook, the rules, and cases or articles of particular interest, we will discuss both the rules and the ethical situations that lawyers face in a variety of situations. There will be a particular focus on the ambiguities of how to handle particularly difficult issues encountered in the practice of law and the rules and framework to which attorneys can turn in determining how to handle those issues.
This seminar will be taught as a participatory class.
Students will be evaluated both on the quality of their participation, and on the basis of a paper of 20 pages in length on a topic relating to professional responsibility chosen by and of particular interest to the student.
Attendance is mandatory.
Autumn 2013
Adam Hoeflich
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Legal Research and Writing
LAWS 30711
- 01
(1)
1L, a
All first-year students participate in the legal research and writing program under the supervision of one of the six Bigelow Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Laws. The work requires the student to become familiar with the standard tools and techniques of legal research and to write a series of memoranda and other documents representative of the lawyer's regular tasks. A prize, the Joseph Henry Beale Prize, is awarded for the outstanding written work in each legal writing section. The Bigelow Fellows also serve as tutor-advisors on an informal basis.
Winter 2014
Genevieve Lakier
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Legal Research and Writing
LAWS 30711
- 01
(2)
1L, a
All first-year students participate in the legal research and writing program under the supervision of one of the six Bigelow Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Laws. The work requires the student to become familiar with the standard tools and techniques of legal research and to write a series of memoranda and other documents representative of the lawyer's regular tasks. A prize, the Joseph Henry Beale Prize, is awarded for the outstanding written work in each legal writing section. The Bigelow Fellows also serve as tutor-advisors on an informal basis.
Autumn 2013
Genevieve Lakier
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Legal Research and Writing
LAWS 30711
- 01
(1)
1L, a
All first-year students participate in the legal research and writing program under the supervision of one of the six Bigelow Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Laws. The work requires the student to become familiar with the standard tools and techniques of legal research and to write a series of memoranda and other documents representative of the lawyer's regular tasks. A prize, the Joseph Henry Beale Prize, is awarded for the outstanding written work in each legal writing section. The Bigelow Fellows also serve as tutor-advisors on an informal basis.
Spring 2014
Genevieve Lakier
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Legal Research and Writing
LAWS 30711
- 02
(1)
1L, a
All first-year students participate in the legal research and writing program under the supervision of one of the six Bigelow Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Laws. The work requires the student to become familiar with the standard tools and techniques of legal research and to write a series of memoranda and other documents representative of the lawyer's regular tasks. A prize, the Joseph Henry Beale Prize, is awarded for the outstanding written work in each legal writing section. The Bigelow Fellows also serve as tutor-advisors on an informal basis.
Winter 2014
Vincent Buccola
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Legal Research and Writing
LAWS 30711
- 02
(2)
1L, a
All first-year students participate in the legal research and writing program under the supervision of one of the six Bigelow Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Laws. The work requires the student to become familiar with the standard tools and techniques of legal research and to write a series of memoranda and other documents representative of the lawyer's regular tasks. A prize, the Joseph Henry Beale Prize, is awarded for the outstanding written work in each legal writing section. The Bigelow Fellows also serve as tutor-advisors on an informal basis.
Autumn 2013
Vincent Buccola
