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Law and Practice of Zoning, Land Use, and Eminent Domain
LAWS 90602
- 01
(2 to 3)
m, s, x
This seminar is a multi-disciplinary, multi-partisan discussion of the balance between private property rights and governmental regulation in land development. We primarily address (i) constitutional bases of private rights and public land use planning; (ii) eminent domain, takings and exactions (including impact fees and delays); (iii) current manifestations of local and regional planning and zoning, including City of Chicago Zoning Reform; and (iv) legal procedures and practical strategies for obtaining public financial incentives, land use approvals, and "relief" for real estate development projects, large and small.
Prior course work in real property and constitutional law are encouraged.
Course materials include cases, academic and trade-group commentaries, press coverage, and narrative and graphic exhibits for specific development projects.
The student's grade is based on attendance, spirited class participation, and, at each student's election, either a paper or an open-book examination. Students writing a paper of 25 or more pages will earn 3 credit hours. Students taking the exam or writing a shorter paper of approximately 15 pages will earn 2 credit hours.
Autumn 2012
Thomas Geselbracht, Theodore Novak, Paul Shadle
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Law and Religion
LAWS 97522
- 01
(3)
+, m, w, x
This seminar will explore religious freedom in the United States in more depth. In addition to First Amendment doctrine, readings will encompass philosophical antecedents and current controversies including but not limited to mandated birth control coverage, legislative chaplaincies, and aggressive religious speech. In addition to assigned readings, students will be expected to find and present interesting scholarly articles on current or historical topics relating to the subject matter.
Grading will be based on short reactions to offered readings, presentation of articles, and a concluding paper.
Constitution Law V is a recommended by not required prerequisite.
Spring 2013
Jeremy Mallory
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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 2012
Mark J. Heyrman
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Law and the Theory of the Firm
LAWS 61603
- 01
(2 to 3)
m, w, x
This seminar examines legal and economic theories of why firms choose certain organizational and capital structures. The first part of the seminar will examine the decision between producing goods or services internally and purchasing those items from external markets. We will look at how agency, contract, corporate governance, and intellectual property laws interact with that decision. The second part of the seminar will examine the legal structures that determine how firms finance their operations. For example, why do some firms take on secured debt while others issue new equity? We will consider theories of how various laws (agency, contracts, corporate governance, and bankruptcy) can impact the agency and monitoring costs that drive the financing decision.
Grades will be based on class participation and either 1) short research papers, or 2) a series of response papers.
Autumn 2012
Anthony Casey
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Leadership
LAWS 75102
- 01
(2)
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, Hannah Arendt, Karl Marx, George Orwell, and Barbara Ehrenreich.
Spring 2013
John Paul Rollert
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Leadership
LAWS 75102
- 01
(3)
+, m, 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.
Winter 2013
David Zarfes, Naveen Thomas
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Legal Elements of Accounting
LAWS 79102
- 01
(1)
s, x
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, as well as detection of common accounting manipulation. Current cases, proposals, and controversies will be discussed.
Class will meet for nine sessions, four days during week 1 (M-Th Jan 7-10, 2013) and five days during week 3 (M-F Jan 21-25, 2013), and completion earns one credit. Attendance and participation will be very important. Grades will be based on a take-home final examination and class participation. Students with substantial prior exposure to accounting (such as students with an MBA, joint MBA/JD students, and undergraduate finance or accounting majors) must seek instructor permission to take the course and will be graded based on a medium-length term paper. Students may audit but cannot earn credit for both this course and any other law school introductory accounting course.
Winter 2013
John Sylla
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Legal Interpretation
LAWS 51602
- 01
(3)
m, w, x
Many challenges in law come from the difficulty of interpreting words—always incomplete, often old. This seminar explores different methods of resolving interpretive problems: "plain meaning," its cousin textualism; a search for intent ("original," presumed, or imputed); functional analysis; and so on. The seminar asks how the competing approaches to decoding texts stand up on different criteria, such as consistency with principles of democratic governance (including the contributions of public choice theory) and the philosophy of language. Constitutional and statutory interpretation receive approximately equal emphasis.
Enrollment is limited to 20 students.
The student's grade is based on a series of short research papers.
Successful completion of this seminar qualifies for the fulfillment of the WP graduation requirement.
Autumn 2012
Frank H. Easterbrook
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Legal Issues in International Transactions
LAWS 42504
- 01
(2)
m, x
This seminar 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 series of response papers and class participation.
Winter 2013
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 40.
Spring 2013
Barry Alberts
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Legal Profession
LAWS 41002
- 02
(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, and conflicts of interest.
A student's grade is based on a final examination.
Autumn 2012
Thomas Lidbury
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Legal Profession
LAWS 41002
- 03
(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.
Autumn 2012
Barry Alberts
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Legal Profession: Ethics
LAWS 41002
- 01
(3)
p, w, 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.
Autumn 2012
Adam Hoeflich
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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 2012
Victoria Schwartz
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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 2013
Victoria Schwartz
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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 2013
Victoria Schwartz
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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.
Spring 2013
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 2012
Vincent Buccola
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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 2013
Vincent Buccola
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Legal Research and Writing
LAWS 30711
- 03
(3)
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 2012
Greg Reilly
