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Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship
LAWS 67613
- 01
(1)
a, s, x
The Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship, or IJ Clinic, provides legal assistance to local lower-income entrepreneurs who are pursuing the American Dream on a shoestring. Students in the IJ Clinic advise clients on issues such as business formation; license and permit application; contract and lease review; contract negotiations; intellectual property protection; and basic tax and regulatory compliance. Students are involved in all phases of client representation and have the opportunity to interview and counsel clients; draft business documents and contracts; negotiate with contractors, investors, or lenders; prepare documents for filing; research complex regulatory schemes and advise clients on how to comply; and occasionally represent clients before administrative bodies. Students gain both practical skills in transactional lawyering and a deep understanding of the entrepreneur's role in the inner city.
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.
The seminar Entrepreneurship & The Law is a prerequisite unless a student has received special permission from the instructors based on equivalent coursework.
A commitment of at least two quarters is required.
Spring 2013
Elizabeth Kregor, Erika Pfleger
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Insurance Law
LAWS 43601
- 01
(3)
An exploration of risk spreading through common law and administrative regulation of insurance products. The primary emphasis of the course is liability insurance (including commercial, automobile, professional, and product liability), although the class also tackles other, more exotic forms of insurance (including reinsurance). The goal of the course is to alert students to how insurance institutions in the United States and abroad affect economic behavior, and in particular how they affect litigation and lawyers.
Grades will be based on a final examination.
Autumn 2012
Omri Ben-Shahar
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Intellectual Property-based Finance and Investment
LAWS 95113
- 01
(3)
m, w, x
Developed economies once resembled a stable three-legged stool -- manufacturing, services and invention. Today, only Intellectual Property (“IP”) and the value it generates remains to support the standard of wealth developed nations have come to enjoy. IP now dwarfs all assets in value-at-risk with intangible assets accounting for over 75 percent of a company’s market capitalization. The seminar will focus on two general topic areas related to IP. First, the class will examine the multiple markets for IP which exist. Second, the class will focus on IP-based asset management and investment banking practices in an attempt to illustrate how economic value can be extracted from IP as an asset class.
Autumn 2012
Michael Friedman
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Intensive Trial Practice Workshop
LAWS 67503
- 01
(2)
+, s, u
This practicum teaches trial preparation, trial advocacy, and strategy through a variety of teaching techniques, including lectures and demonstrations, but primarily through simulated trial exercises. Topics include opening statements, witness preparation, direct and cross examination, expert witnesses, objections at trial, and closing argument. Practicing lawyers and judges are enlisted to provide students with lectures and critiques from varied perspectives. The practicum concludes with a simulated jury trial presided over by sitting state and federal court judges.
Open to J.D. students only.
Evidence is a prerequisite.
Students taking the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop may enroll in Pre-Trial Advocacy.
Completion of this workshop partially satisfies one of the requirements for admission to the trial bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
This practicum is open only to students entering their 3L year and limited to 54 with preference given to students who have been accepted into a Clinic course.
Students who have taken Trial Advocacy (LAWS 67603), Poverty and Housing Law Clinic (LAWS 90512), or Trial Practice: Strategy and Advocacy (LAWS 91702) may not take this course.
The student's grade is based on class participation.
This practicum meets everyday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (sometimes later) for two weeks starting September 10. The simulated trial will be on September 22, time TBD.
Autumn 2012
Herschella G. Conyers, Erica Zunkel, Craig B. Futterman, Randolph N. Stone
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International Arbitration
LAWS 94602
- 01
(3)
m, s, w, x
This seminar gives students a practical foundation in the mechanics of international commercial arbitration and an understanding of the tactical choices that frequently confront international arbitration practitioners. With the emergence of the global economy and the explosive growth of cross-border transactions and multinational joint ventures, international arbitration has become the leading mechanism for resolution of international commercial disputes. With parties increasingly unwilling to accept the risks of litigation in the local courts of their foreign business partners, international arbitration agreements are now a mainstay of cross-border commercial transactions. Topics include the crafting of effective international arbitration agreements, the relative advantages and disadvantages of ad hoc UNCITRAL-style arbitration and institutional arbitration (ICC, AAA, etc.), the rules of procedure that govern international arbitration, the difficult procedural issues that commonly arise in international arbitration (such as the availability and extent of discovery, the consolidation of parties and claims, etc.), procedural and substantive issues applicable to investor-state arbitration, the effective presentation of evidence, and the enforcement of international arbitral awards.
The student's grade is based upon the quality of preparation for and oral participation in the seminar, as well as the quality of a required research paper.
Spring 2013
Alan D'Ambrosio
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International Finance
LAWS 48901
- 01
(2)
Today the volume of international financial flows far exceeds the volume of international trade. This mini-course addresses the international regulatory aspects of U. S. domestic banking and security markets and contrasts them with foreign markets. The focus is on U.S., European, and other regulatory systems and the role of international financial institutions. In addition to introductory material on U.S. banking and securities regulation, foreign exchange markets, and the growth of Eurocurrency markets, two particularly current topics will be addressed: (1) international regulatory aspects of the recent international financial crisis and (2) changes in U.S. law made or under consideration to respond to that crisis. Special attention will be paid to the "Euro problem" and to Chinese financial markets.
This course is intended to complement, rather than substitute for, courses in U.S. securities and banking regulation, but this course does not assume that students have taken those other courses.
The student's grade will be based on a take-home exam and class participation.
This mini course meets for the first four weeks of the quarter.
A vote will be taken on the first day of class to determine when the take-home final will be given.
Winter 2013
Kenneth W. Dam
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International Human Rights
LAWS 96101
- 01
(3)
c/l, r, w
This course is an introduction to international human rights law, covering the major instruments and institutions that operate on the international plane. It includes discussion of the conceptual underpinnings of human rights, the structure of the United Nations System, the major international treaties, regional human rights machinery, and the interplay of national and international systems in enforcing human rights.
There are no prerequisites.
Grading will be on the basis of a take-home exam at the end of the quarter.
Students who wish to write, in lieu of the exam, a paper sufficient to satisfy the substantial writing requirement, may do so upon approval of the topic in advance.
Undergraduate students by instruction permission only.
Autumn 2012
Tom Ginsburg
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International Human Rights Clinic
LAWS 67913
- 01
(2)
a, s
The International Human Rights Clinic works for the promotion of social and economic justice globally, including in the United States. The Clinic uses international human rights laws and norms as well as other substantive law and strategies to draw attention to human rights violations, develop practical solutions to those problems using interdisciplinary methodologies, and promote accountability on the part of state and non-state actors. The Clinic works closely with non-governmental organizations to design, collaborate, and implement projects, which include litigation in domestic, foreign, and international tribunals as well as non-litigation projects, such as documenting violations, legislative reform, drafting reports, and training manuals. Students work in teams on specific projects and will develop their international research, legal writing, oral advocacy, communication, interviewing, collaboration, media advocacy, and strategic thinking skills. Additionally, students will critically examine the substance and application of human rights law, as well as discuss and confront the ethical challenges of working on human rights problems globally, and develop new techniques to address human rights violations, including those involving economic and social rights and women's rights.
Students who enroll in the Clinic in the Winter quarter are required to continue in the Spring quarter. During the Winter quarter instruction will include primarily classroom-based work, including seminar classes, simulation exercises, and background country and situational research in preparation for field-work during Spring break (which may involve international travel) on a selected topic. In the Spring quarter, students will work primarily on drafting, revising, and finalizing the draft report or litigation project, and will work on developing advocacy strategies in connection with their project. Students are encouraged but not required to take a course in International Human Rights Law.
Students will receive two credits each quarter in the International Human Rights Clinic in accordance with the Law School's general criteria for clinical courses as described in the Law School Announcements and by the approval of the clinical faculty.
Spring 2013
Sital Kalantry
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International Human Rights Clinic
LAWS 67913
- 01
(2)
a, s, x
The International Human Rights Clinic works for the promotion of social and economic justice globally, including in the United States. The Clinic uses international human rights laws and norms as well as other substantive law and strategies to draw attention to human rights violations, develop practical solutions to those problems using interdisciplinary methodologies, and promote accountability on the part of state and non-state actors. The Clinic works closely with non-governmental organizations to design, collaborate, and implement projects, which include litigation in domestic, foreign, and international tribunals as well as non-litigation projects, such as documenting violations, legislative reform, drafting reports, and training manuals. Students work in teams on specific projects and will develop their international research, legal writing, oral advocacy, communication, interviewing, collaboration, media advocacy, and strategic thinking skills. Additionally, students will critically examine the substance and application of human rights law, as well as discuss and confront the ethical challenges of working on human rights problems globally, and develop new techniques to address human rights violations, including those involving economic and social rights and women's rights.
Students who enroll in the Clinic in the Winter quarter are required to continue in the Spring quarter. During the Winter quarter instruction will include primarily classroom-based work, including seminar classes, simulation exercises, and background country and situational research in preparation for field-work during Spring break (which may involve international travel) on a selected topic. In the Spring quarter, students will work primarily on drafting, revising, and finalizing the draft report or litigation project, and will work on developing advocacy strategies in connection with their project. Students are encouraged but not required to take a course in International Human Rights Law.
Students will receive two credits each quarter in the International Human Rights Clinic in accordance with the Law School's general criteria for clinical courses as described in the Law School Announcements and by the approval of the clinical faculty.
Winter 2013
Sital Kalantry
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International Trade Law
LAWS 48401
- 01
(3)
e, x
This course examines the law and policy of international trade in goods and services. It begins with an overview of the politics and economics of international cooperation on trade, and then moves on to study the core obligations that states have under the WTO/GATT rules. These rules address tariff and non-tariff barriers, discrimination of importers, regional trade agreements, anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, and safeguards measures. We will discuss the negotiation, implementation and enforcement of international trade agreements, with a particular interest in the relationship between free trade and other areas of international cooperation, such as the environment, public health, intellectual property protection, human rights and development.
Student grades will be based on a final examination and class participation.
Spring 2013
Daniel Abebe
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Introductory Income Taxation
LAWS 44121
- 01
(3)
x
This course provides a survey of the essential elements of the U.S. income tax, with principal focus on the taxation of individuals. Points of concern are the nature of income, its timing and measurement, the notions of tax benefit and tax incentive, realization, sales and exchanges, the boundary between personal and business expenditures, capital recovery and capital gains, and assignment of income among related taxpayers.
The student's grade is based on a proctored examination.
Autumn 2012
Julie Roin
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Introductory Income Taxation
LAWS 44121
- 01
(3)
This course provides a survey of the essential elements of the U.S. income tax, with principal focus on the taxation of individuals. Points of concern are the nature of income, its timing and measurement, the notions of tax benefit and tax incentive, realization, sales and exchanges, the boundary between personal and business expenditures, capital recovery and capital gains, and assignment of income among related taxpayers.
The student's grade is based on a proctored examination.
Winter 2013
Joseph Isenbergh
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Investigative, Trial, and Policy Issues in Criminal and National Security Law
LAWS 70708
- 01
(3)
+, m, w, x
This seminar covers a series of issues in criminal and national security law, often comparing and contrasting the two approaches, with a particular focus on challenges arising from acts of terrorism and other national security prosecutions, the President's war powers and congressional oversight, and in other select areas, including money laundering, economic sanctions, foreign investment in the United States, and cyber security and data privacy.
Each class will focus on a different topic, with advance reading assigned around each topic, and grading on the basis of two reflection papers and a final paper or legal brief (at the student's option) on a select issue in criminal and national security law. Guest speakers will help facilitate discussion on certain topics.
Pre-requisites: Criminal Law and Constitutional Law I.
This class does not count towards the seminars/simulations limit.
Spring 2013
Patrick Fitzgerald, Michael Scudder
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Islamic Law and Finance
LAWS 80222
- 01
(3)
c/l, m, w, x
This seminar will provide students with an overview of the modern Islamic finance industry. We will review the basic sources of Islamic law and jurisprudence and consider the prohibitions on unjustified increase (riba) and excessive risk (gharar). We will explore the classical rules of Islamic contract and commercial law and their application in the modern context. The growth of the modern Islamic finance industry from the 1970’s to the present will be examined. The main Islamic financial products will be reviewed. We will consider legal questions in structuring transaction documentation. We will explore the ethical underpinnings of Islamic finance and the social justice questions highlighted by the intersection of religion and finance. Regulatory issues will be discussed. We will also consider the political environment in which Islamic finance currently operates. The seminar is intended to familiarize students with the essential legal framework of the rapidly emerging market for highly technical and sophisticated Islamic financial products.
Autumn 2012
Cynthia Shawamreh
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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.
Take-home essay exam.
The first meeting of the class will be on Tuesday, April 2 (not Friday, March 29), and attendance at the first session is mandatory for those who want to enroll.
Spring 2013
Brian Leiter
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Labor Law
LAWS 43101
- 01
(3)
x
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.
Autumn 2012
Laura Weinrib
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Land Use
LAWS 61301
- 01
(3)
This course will examine mechanisms for regulating land use and development. We will consider constitutional and other legal limitations on land use controls, as well as political, economic, and other policy considerations that bear on regulatory choices. The interactions among land use controls undertaken by different governing bodies will also receive attention.
The student’s grade is based on a proctored final examination; participation may be taken into account as indicated on the syllabus.
Winter 2013
Lee Fennell
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Law and Advances in Medicine
LAWS 93302
- 01
(3)
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. The other 50 percent will be based on class participation.
Spring 2013
Julie Gage Palmer
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Law and Political Thought: Punishment
LAWS 70705
- 01
(3)
c/l, r, w
This course will focus on punishment paradigms—past, present, and future. The United States experienced an exponential increase in its prison population beginning in 1973 and witnessed the collapse of earlier punishment paradigms, such as rehabilitation. At the same time, the early 1970s were marked by severe criticism of the excesses of the criminal justice system and many predictions of the future demise of the prison. This raises a host of questions: What happened in the 1970s that contributed to our present condition of mass incarceration? What is the punishment paradigm that governs the criminal justice system today? And can we envisage a radically different paradigm for the future? This course will explore these questions through readings of the classics of political, social, and legal theory on punishment since the 1970s.
Students will be assessed via a substantial research paper and class participation.
Winter 2013
Bernard E. Harcourt
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Law and Politics: U.S. Courts as Political Institutions
LAWS 51302
- 01
(3)
+, c/l, m, r, w
The purpose of this seminar is twofold. First, it introduces students to the political nature of the American legal system. In reviewing social science literature on courts, students focus on the relationship between the courts and other political institutions. The questions asked include the following: Are there interests that courts are particularly prone to support? What effect does congressional or executive action have on court decisions? What impact do court decisions have? Second, by critically assessing approaches to the study of courts, the seminar seeks to highlight intelligent and sound approaches. Particular concern focuses on assumptions students of courts have made, how evidence is integrated into their studies, and what a good research design looks like.
There will be a mandatory preliminary meeting for interested students in the Autumn; law student enrollment is limited to 7.
There is a choice. Students can either write two 5-7 page analytic papers and complete a take-home final or they can write one 5-7 page analytic paper and undertake a substantial research paper.
Papers may meet substantial research paper (SRP) graduation requirement.
Winter 2013
Gerald Rosenberg
