Family Law, Property Rights, Torts, and Insurance Courses

The courses listed below provide a taste of the Family Law, Property Rights, Torts, and Insurance Law courses offered at the Law School, although no formal groupings exist in our curriculum. This list includes the courses taught in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. Not all of these courses are offered every year, but this list will give you a representative sample of the variety of courses we might offer over any two-year period. Other new courses will likely be offered during your time at the Law School.

PLEASE NOTE: This page does not include courses for the current academic year. To browse current course offerings, visit my.UChicago.

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Courses

Abrams Environmental Law Clinic

Students in the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic promote clean energy, fight against water pollution, protect natural resources and human health, and address legacy contamination. Students learn practical legal skills, such as conducting factual investigations, interviewing witnesses and preparing affidavits, reviewing administrative determinations, drafting motions, working with experts, arguing motions and presenting at trial or an administrative hearing. The Clinic represents regional and national environmental organizations and individuals and often works with co-counsel. In addition to litigation, the Clinic may also engage in legislative reform and rule-making efforts; students interested solely in that kind of work should notify the instructor before joining the Clinic. While the course does not have any pre-requisites, students are strongly encouraged to take an environmental law, energy law, and/or administrative law courses at some point during their time in the clinic. A student enrolling in the Clinic for the first time should sign up for two credits; in subsequent quarters, the student may enroll for one, two or three credits per quarter after consultation with clinic faculty. Spring clinic seats are open to 2L and 3L students only.

Class evaluation is based on: Substantial out of class work, legal research and writing, oral presentation and advocacy.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Mark N Templeton, Jacob Schuhardt, Sam Heppell
• Winter 2024: Mark N Templeton, Jacob Schuhardt, Sam Heppell
• Winter 2023: Mark N. Templeton
• Spring 2023: Mark N. Templeton
• Autumn 2023: Mark N Templeton, Jacob Schuhardt, Sam Heppell
• Autumn 2022: Mark N. Templeton
• Spring 2022: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Winter 2022: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Autumn 2021: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Spring 2021: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Winter 2021: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Autumn 2020: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Spring 2020: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Winter 2020: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Autumn 2019: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Winter 2019: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Autumn 2018: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Spring 2018: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Winter 2018: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock
• Autumn 2017: Mark N. Templeton and Robert A. Weinstock

Art Law

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. Final grade will be based on a major paper (6000-7500 words) and class participation.

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: William M Landes and Anthony Hirschel
• Autumn 2022: William M Landes and Anthony Hirschel
• Spring 2022: Eric A. Posner
• Autumn 2021: Randal C. Picker, William M. Landes, Anthony Hirschel
• Winter 2021: Eric A. Posner
• Autumn 2020: Randal C. Picker
• Winter 2020: Randal C. Picker
• Autumn 2019: William M. Landes and Anthony Hirschel
• Winter 2018: Randal C. Picker
• Autumn 2017: William M. Landes and Anthony Hirschel

Blockchain, Crypto, and the Law

Cryptocurrencies and the blockchain have been a hot topic for several years, garnering unprecedented financial, technological, and regulatory attention. Fitting new technologies into existing legal frameworks requires a combination of creativity and brute force. This course runs through the major legal issues that have arisen in the blockchain / crypto space. Some have been answered, at least tentatively. And others are the subject of roiling debate.

Grades will be based on a paper as well as a group project concerning the topics taught in the class.

If you took Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Web3 you will not be able to take this seminar.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Matthew Ford and Katharine Roin
• Winter 2023: Matthew Ford and Katharine Roin

Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Web3

This class examines how what decentralized ledgers such as blockchain are, how they work, use cases such as cryptocurrencies, novel methods of financing made possible by blockchain, and legal issues that blockchain raises. We will examine blockchain ledgers and different consensus protocols, including both proof of stake and proof of work. We will explore the history and evolution of cryptocurrencies, especially through so-called forks. We will examine the use of blockchain not just for payments, but also for tracking financial assets and land, trading computer storage and processing power, financing, selling art (NFTS) and services, and even for game play. We will examine the novel ways in which blockchain startups are funded, including the pre-sale of utility tokens to investors. We will also consider legal issues such as the tax treatment of ICOs and cryptocurrency trades, whether tokens are securities, the fiduciary duties of developers under corporate law, and money-laundering concerns with cryptocurrencies. Students will be required to work in small groups with a mix of law and business students to write a Web3 business proposal and give a presentation on the business proposal. The proposal must include an analysis of both business and legal risks. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Anup Malani and Anthony Zhang
• Autumn 2022: Anup Malani and Anthony Zhang

Constitutional Law VII: Parent, Child, and State

This course considers the constitutional law governing the rights of parents and children and the role that constitutional law plays in shaping children's development. Among the topics discussed are parents' right to control the upbringing of their children; children's rights of speech, religion, procreative freedom and against cruel and unusual punishment; children's procedural rights in school and in the criminal justice system; parental identity rights, including rights associated with paternity claims, termination proceedings, assisted reproduction, and adoption; the scope of the state's authority to intervene to protect children, to regulate their conduct, or to influence their upbringing; and the role of race and culture in defining the family.

This class has a final exam or a major paper may be written (6000-7500 words). Students wishing to pursue the paper option should contact the instructor to discuss this within the first week of class.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Emily Buss
• Spring 2021: Emily Buss
• Spring 2019: Emily Buss
• Spring 2018: Emily Buss

Disability Rights Law

This course will focus on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including the interpretation of the definition of disability and the subsequent ADA Amendments Act; employment discrimination; the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision guaranteeing community integration; and the ADA's application to healthcare, education, websites and criminal justice. In addition to the ADA, the seminar will review disability laws related to special education and housing.

This class requires a series of very short reaction papers and an 2350-3000 word term paper (for 2 credits). To earn 3 credits students must write a term paper of 3500-4400 words in addition to the reaction papers. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Barry Taylor
• Winter 2022: Andrew Webb and Barry Taylor
• Winter 2023: Barry Taylor

Divorce Practice and Procedure

This is a simulation class providing exposure to the dynamic process of representing clients in dissolution of marriage cases and issues related to them. The class will make you aware of the complexities arising when the ever-changing family unit becomes divided. Topics are covered through an evolving case, with each student in the role of a practicing lawyer. Issues include interstate and international parental kidnapping, determination of jurisdiction, domestic violence, restraining orders and injunctions, temporary and permanent parenting rights and responsibilities (custody and visitation), temporary and permanent maintenance (alimony), child support, the characterization of property and division of assets and liabilities; also, premarital and post marital agreements, ethical issues, federal tax law affecting divorce and the effects of bankruptcy. Students will discuss and argue issues not only with instructors, but also with one or more sitting Illinois Domestic Relations Court judges, as well as interacting with classmates. Readings will be drawn from case law, statutes, and court approved forms used in contested proceedings. One half of a student's grade is based on preparation for and class participation and one half on a series of six short papers related to class topics (totaling 6000-7500 words).

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Donald Schiller and Erika Wyatt
• Autumn 2021: Donald Schiller and Erika Wyatt
• Autumn 2020: Donald Schiller and Erika Wyatt
• Autumn 2019: Donald Schiller and Erika Wyatt
• Autumn 2018: Donald Schiller and Erika Wyatt
• Autumn 2017: Donald Schiller and Erika Wyatt

Education Law & Policy

Public schools have been a dramatic setting for Constitutional challenges for over 100 years, and K-12 education has been shaped by cases on the role of government in education, by policies intended to promote equality of opportunity and access, and by evolving methods of reform. Students will examine well-established education precedents while learning how education law and policy have developed. The class focus, however, will be on cutting-edge issues.

Students will explore policy choices under theories of jurisprudence including critical race theory and law and economics. Readings will include Constitutional issues of speech, privacy, equal protection, and freedom of religion, as well as state constitutional rights to adequate education. In addition, there will be applications of statutory and regulatory law. Broad course themes include: equity in access to education and the disparate impact of policy choices, particularly during the pandemic, on students who are members of groups with limited access to educational opportunity historically; the goals of public education and the tension between government authority to ensure these goals are met, and family rights to control the values and education presented to their children; and the balance between freedom of expression for students and the goal of schools to provide a safe teaching and learning environment. Current disputes will be analyzed through the lens of access to a quality education at every aspect of the education process.

Topics may include: K-12 student data privacy; transgender student rights; practices that may create a school-to-prison pipeline; safe spaces and the First Amendment; artificial intelligence digital tutors and rights to adequate education; tax credit scholarships for religious schools; the impact of growth of charter schools; teachers' rights to work conditions in a pandemic; sanctuary districts and excluding immigrants from the Census; and K-12 teacher tenure and compensation.

This class requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading. This is a remote class that will have two required in person sessions at the end of the quarter. Students may sit in Room B to attend the remote sessions on their laptop.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Susan Epstein
• Spring 2021: Susan Epstein

Employee Benefits Law

This seminar will provide an introduction to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and other federal statutes regulating employee benefit plans in the private sector. The course will cover many types of plans, including defined benefit pension plans, individual account retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans), medical plans, other welfare benefit plans and executive compensation programs. It will provide a basic understanding of fiduciary standards governing plan administration and the investment of plan assets; minimum standards for benefits and funding; benefit claim dispute resolution procedures and standards of judicial review; federal preemption of state laws; and key issues which arise in ERISA litigation. The course is intended for students interested in a broader labor and employment practice; a mergers and acquisitions or general corporate practice; or a civil litigation practice. Although our primary mission will be to prepare students for the practice of law, we also will explore whether the law governing employee benefit plans is operating effectively and in accordance with its stated purposes. Students will be graded on class participation and a) a series of short reaction and research papers which must total at least 6000-7500 words, including at least one research paper of 10 or more pages or b) a major research paper of at least 6000-7500 words. There are no prerequisites required for this seminar.

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Charles Wolf and Philip Mowery
• Autumn 2021: Charles Wolf and Philip Mowery
• Autumn 2020: Charles Wolf
• Autumn 2019: Charles Wolf and Philip Mowery
• Spring 2019: Charles Wolf and Philip Mowery
• Autumn 2018: Charles Wolf and Philip Mowery

Employment Discrimination Law

This course deals with the problem of discrimination in the American workplace and the federal and state statutes that have been enacted to prohibit it. Primary focus will be on the major federal equal employment opportunity statutes (the 1866 Civil Rights Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act), the types of claims that are brought under these laws, and the varying burdens of proof/persuasion, procedural prerequisites, and remedies provided by these statutes, along with current proposals for legislative change. Enrollment will be limited to 20 students. The student's grade will be based on class participation and a final examination or students can write a paper 6,000-7,500 words.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: James Whitehead

Employment Law

This seminar is designed to provide the student with an overview of the common law principles and several of the leading federal and state statutes that govern the private-sector employment relationship. Among the topics to be covered are (1) the contractual nature of the employment relationship and the employment-at-will doctrine; (2) contractual, tort-based, and statutory erosions of the employment-at-will doctrine; (3) the contractual and common law duties and obligations owed by an employee to the employer; and (4) wage and hour and employee leave statutes, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This seminar supplements, but will not cover the topics presented in, the Law School's courses in Labor Law (Laws 43101), Employment Discrimination Law (Laws 43401), and Employee Benefits Law (Laws 55503), which are not prerequisites to enrollment. Enrollment will be limited to 20 students. The student's grade will be based on a final examination. Students wishing to earn 3 credits for the class may write a 10-12+ page research paper in addition to the final exam.

Participation may be considered in final grading.

The first class session for Employment Law will be held on Wednesday, April 5. Two make-up sessions will be scheduled at a later date.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: James Whitehead
• Spring 2022: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2022: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2021: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2021: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2021: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2020: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2020: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2020: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2019: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2019: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2019: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2018: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2018: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2018: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2017: Randall Schmidt

Employment Law Clinic

Randall D. Schmidt and his students operate the Clinic's Employment Law Clinic. The Clinic focuses primarily on pre-trial litigation and handles a number of individual cases and class actions. In individual cases, the Clinic represents clients in cases in federal court or the Illinois Human Rights Commission and seeks to obtain relief for clients from race, sex, national origin, and handicap discrimination in the work place. In the class actions, the Clinic represents groups of employees in employment and civil rights actions in federal court. Additionally, the Clinic is appointed each year to represent a few clients in appeals pending before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and in settlement conferences in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Finally, in addition to its individual cases and law reform/impact cases, the Clinic seeks to improve the procedures and remedies available to victims of employment discrimination so that employees have a fair opportunity to present their claims in a reasonably expeditious way. To accomplish this goal, the Clinic is active in the legislative arena and participates with other civil rights groups in efforts to amend and improve state and federal laws. It is suggested, but not required, that all students in the Employment Law Clinic take the Employment Discrimination Law seminar. It is recommended that third-year students take, prior to their third year, either the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop or some other trial practice course. The student's grade is based on class participation. 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 faculty. Evidence is a prerequisite for 3L's in the clinic. The Intensive Trial Practice Workshop (or an equivalent trial practice course) is recommended for 3L's in the clinic.

Students will be evaluated on their written and oral work on behalf of the Clinic's clients.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2024: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2023: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2023: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2023: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2022: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2022: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2022: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2021: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2021: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2021: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2020: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2020: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2020: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2019: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2019: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2019: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2018: Randall Schmidt
• Spring 2018: Randall Schmidt
• Winter 2018: Randall Schmidt
• Autumn 2017: Randall Schmidt

Energy Transactions Seminar

The Energy Transactions Seminar exposes students to current issues facing energy transactions practitioners. Topics covered include wind, solar, and pipeline project development, domestic and international upstream oil and gas, facilities procurement/construction, the natural resources curse, energy finance, and energy litigation/arbitration trends. The Energy Transactions Seminar also includes the West Africa exploration bid round simulation, in which teams bid on petroleum licenses in West Africa, engage in a multilateral negotiation with other teams to acquire and divest license interests, and then drill wells by rolling dice to determine which of the 50 petroleum prospects are discoveries.

The student's grade will be based upon in-class participation (15%), negotiation effectiveness and performance in the simulation (25%), and a final paper (60%).

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Shelby Gaille
• Spring 2021: Shelby Gaille

Environmental and Energy Justice

This seminar will examine environmental and energy laws and policies from the perspectives of distributive, procedural, corrective, and social justice. After reviewing causal theories, risk and public health considerations, and constitutional and civil rights claims, the course will turn toward a review of how environmental standard-setting, permitting, and enforcement affect communities, with a particular focus on low-income communities and people of color. The seminar will also cover the emerging field of energy justice, which examines how the burdens and benefits of the energy system impact different communities. Each student will be expected to help lead at least one seminar session, and assessment will be based on class participation and a final paper (6000-7500 words)

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Tobias D Chun and Jeanne Cohn
• Winter 2023: Mark N Templeton
• Spring 2022: Tobias Chun and Jeanne T. Cohn
• Spring 2021: Tobias Chun and Jeanne T. Cohn

Environmental Law in Bankruptcy and Transactions

This seminar will provide an overview of environmental transactional and environmental bankruptcy topics. Environmental issues often play a critical role in business and corporate transactions. This class will provide practical skills development focusing on the environmental aspects of transactions, with a core emphasis on the identification, management and allocation of environmental liability risks in many different types of transactions. In the bankruptcy arena, this course will provide an understanding of key environmental bankruptcy concepts, how to harmonize the conflicting goals of bankruptcy and environmental law, and how environmental liabilities are managed during the bankruptcy process. Students will gain practical experience in learning how environmental bankruptcy cases are handled. This class requires a series of reaction papers. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Tobias Chun and Jeanne T. Cohn
• Spring 2022: Tobias Chun and Jeanne T. Cohn
• Spring 2021: Tobias Chun and Jeanne T. Cohn

Environmental Law: Air, Water, and Animals

This survey course explores the major domestic policies in place to protect the environment, with a focus on clean air and water and animal conservation (e.g., the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act). The course is a complement to Professor Templeton's Toxic Torts and Environmental Justice course; neither is a prerequisite for the other, and the two share little overlap. We'll spend some time on the regulation of climate change and will discuss issues of environmental justice embedded in each of the major topics.

This class has a final exam. Participation may be considered in final grading. Open to 1L students only.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Hajin Kim
• Spring 2023: Hajin Kim
• Spring 2022: Hajin Kim
• Spring 2021: Hajin Kim

Estate Planning and Drafting

This seminar in estate planning and drafting meets the ABA definition of an experiential course. The seminar will give students experience in drafting specific provisions of wills and trust instruments, including provisions relating to the use of class gifts, conditions of survival, and powers of appointment. The seminar also will give students the experience of drafting a will for a live client. Students will be graded on a series of experiential assignments, including the will-drafting project, and on class participation. There are no prerequisites.

Students who have taken "The Law of Future Interests" in Autumn 2021 are not eligible to enroll in this seminar.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Thomas P. Gallanis
• Spring 2021: Thomas P. Gallanis
• Spring 2020: Thomas P. Gallanis

Fair Housing

This course will focus on the law and policy of fair housing, broadly construed. Substantial attention will be devoted to antidiscrimination laws in housing, including the federal Fair Housing Act. We will also explore existing and proposed policies for improving access of lower-income people to housing. The causes and consequences of residential segregation will be examined, as well as the effects of zoning and other land use controls. Additional topics may include gentrification, eviction, squatting, mortgages and foreclosures, and the use of eminent domain. Grading is based on a final examination; participation may be taken into account as indicated on the syllabus. Open to 1L students only.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Lee Fennell
• Spring 2023: Lee Fennell
• Spring 2021: Lee Fennell

Gender Violence and the Law

This seminar focuses on the intersection of gender-based violence and criminal law, concluding with a discussion of civil remedies for survivors and their limitations. It begins by examining the legal history of gender violence, including marital rape and domestic violence and the theories underlying state nonintervention which continue to influence the law today. Students will explore the concepts of resistance, force, threats, and consent as they relate to sexual violence, with discussion on shifting standards in the law and their theoretical underpinnings. Other class topics will include femicide and the use of the provocation defense in homicide cases, mandatory prosecution policies in domestic violence cases, the state's obligation to domestic violence survivors and related constitutional claims, credibility, juror and systemic bias, acquaintance rape, the intricate balance between victim and defendant rights, and historic underreporting and under-prosecution of gender-based violence. One class day will focus on evidentiary issues such as Battered Women's Syndrome, Rape Trauma Syndrome, and Rape Shield. Grades will be based on two short (900-1500 word) reaction papers and a final (3000-3500 word) research paper, as well as class participation.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Elizabeth Payne
• Spring 2023: Elizabeth Payne

Global Inequality

Global income and wealth are highly concentrated. The richest 2% of the population own about half of the global assets. Per capita income in the United States is around $66,000 and in Europe it is around $38,500, while in India it is $6,400 and in Congo, it is $1,100. There are equally unsettling inequalities in longevity, health, and education. In this interdisciplinary seminar, we ask what duties nations and individuals have to address these inequalities and what are the best strategies for doing so. What role must each country play in helping itself? What is the role of international agreements and agencies, of NGOs, of political institutions, and of corporations in addressing global poverty? How do we weigh policies that emphasize growth against policies that emphasize within-country equality, health, or education? In seeking answers to these questions, the class will combine readings on the law and economics of global development with readings on the philosophy of global justice. A particular focus will be on the role that legal institutions, both domestic and international, play in discharging these duties. For, example, we might focus on how a nation with natural resources can design legal institutions to ensure they are exploited for the benefit of the citizens of the country. Students will be expected to write a paper (6000-7500 words), which may qualify for substantial writing credit. Non-law students need instructor consent to enroll. Participation may be considered in final grading. This class will begin the week of January 2, 2023.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Martha C Nussbaum and David A Weisbach
• Winter 2021: Martha C. Nussbaum and David Weisbach
• Winter 2019: Martha C. Nussbaum and David Weisbach

Greenberg Seminars: The Law of the Dog

In 1996, Frank Easterbrook famously criticized the idea of studying "The Law of the Horse," referring to niche course offerings that center natural or technological topics, such as the horse or, his real target, cyber technology. In this Greenberg, however, we will do exactly that, taking up a subject that is economically and socially significant, pervasive, uneasily classified by law, and often quite cute: the dog. We examine how laws across different doctrinal domains interact with each other in the regulation of this specific natural kind. We will consider the dog's dual status as an owned chattel and as a sentient being fully integrated into the lives of humans, and explore how legal issues that arise in property, contract, tort, criminal law, and criminal procedure manage (or fail to manage) the gulf between these dual understandings. We will end with a look at theory and policy that places dog law in the broader context of animal rights and welfare. Readings will include cases, news items, and academic articles and book chapters. Meetings will be held on the evenings of October 5 (6:30-8:30 pm), November 2 (7:30-9:30 pm), January 25 (7:30-9:30 pm), April 8 (7:30-9:30 pm), and April 29th (6:30-8:30 pm). Meeting venues will include the professors' homes, which are in the Chicago neighborhoods of Kenwood and Beverly, respectively.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Richard Mcadams and Lee Fennell
• Winter 2024: Richard Mcadams and Lee Fennell
• Autumn 2023: Richard Mcadams and Lee Fennell

Greenberg Seminars: Portrayals of Parenting in Film

Parenting can present difficult legal issues that make for good movies. With Professors Emily Buss and Erica Zunkel, you'll watch (on your own) and discuss (together) five films that explore some of these challenging and controversial issues. Films will include Captain Fantastic (parenting outside the norm (including unusual home schooling)); The Children Act (judicial decision making on behalf of a child whose parents oppose a life-saving medical intervention; the relationship between the juvenile judge and the child in question); Kramer v. Kramer (parenting after parental separation; gender roles in parenting); and A Thousand and One (child protection intervention and parental resistance). We will meet once during the fall quarter and twice during the winter and spring quarters. The fall meeting will take place on October 9 in the evening, 7-9PM.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Emily Buss, Erica Zunkel
• Winter 2024: Emily Buss, Erica Zunkel
• Autumn 2023: Emily Buss, Erica Zunkel

Historic Preservation Law

This seminar explores the roots of historic and cultural preservation, examines the question of why (or whether) cultural artifacts should be preserved and looks at the current federal and local laws affecting historic and cultural artifacts. We will look at our own Saarinen-designed Law School building in this context. We will reexamine the validity of the Penn Central v. City of New York decision as a rationale for preservation and its impact on private property rights. Finally, we will try to understand how changing societal values influence the selection and preservation of historic artifacts. Grade is based on four short papers, preparation and class participation.

Property Law, Land Use Law, Administrative Law or Local Government Law are helpful background for Historic Preservation Law.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Richard F Friedman
• Autumn 2020: Richard F. Friedman

Housing Initiative Transactional Clinic

The Housing Initiative Transactional Clinic provides legal representation on complex real estate development projects to build affordable housing. Clients include nonprofit, community-based affordable housing developers and housing cooperatives. Students serve as deal lawyers, working with clients and teams of professionals -- such as financial consultants, architects, marketing professionals, property managers, and social service providers -- to bring affordable housing and mixed use development projects to fruition. Projects range from single family rehabs with budgets in the $30,000 to $75,000 range, to multi-million dollar rental and mixed use projects financed by low income housing tax credits, tax exempt bonds, TIF, and other layered subsidies. Students also counsel nonprofit clients on governance and tax issues related to their work. In addition to their client work, students meet as a group in a weekly two-hour seminar in autumn quarter, and in a weekly one-hour seminar during winter and spring quarters, to discuss the substantive rules and legal skills pertinent to real estate development transactions and to examine emergent issues arising out of the students' work. During the fall quarter seminar, returning clinic students need only attend the first hour; new students should attend for the full two hours. In the winter and spring quarters, all students should attend all the one-hour seminar sessions. Academic credit for the Housing Initiative Transactional Clinic varies and is 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 faculty.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Jeffrey E Leslie
• Spring 2023: Jeffrey E Leslie
• Autumn 2022: Jeffrey E Leslie
• Spring 2022: Jeffrey E. Leslie
• Spring 2021: Jeffrey E. Leslie
• Winter 2021: Jeffrey E. Leslie
• Autumn 2020: Jeffrey E. Leslie
• Spring 2020: Jeffrey E. Leslie
• Winter 2020: Jeffrey E. Leslie
• Autumn 2019: Jeffrey E. Leslie
• Spring 2019: Jeffrey E. Leslie
• Winter 2019: Jeffrey E. Leslie
• Autumn 2018: Jeffrey E. Leslie

Human Trafficking and the Link to Public Corruption

This course provides a comprehensive, practical introduction to the history and present-day reality of human trafficking both domestically and internationally. In the year of the 20th anniversary of the Palermo Protocol, the course will look back on how far individual states have come in their efforts to fulfill their obligations under the Protocol. By reviewing the challenges to criminal prosecution first, the course will explore alternative paths to eradicating this transnational human rights crime that impacts over 40 million individuals annually. Reviewing the array of supply chain laws domestically and internationally first and then exploring industry-wide practices, students will learn to examine solutions from an array of laws that reach beyond merely criminal prosecution. Recognizing that public corruption plays a significant and powerful role in aiding the crime to continue with little societal repercussions, the course will explore ways in which the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the TVPRA have mechanisms to enforce these violations that provide billions of dollars to the traffickers. Taught by federal district court judge, Hon. Virginia M. Kendall. This class requires a major paper of 6000-7500 words.

Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Virginia Kendall
• Winter 2023: Virginia Kendall
• Winter 2022: Virginia Kendall
• Winter 2021: Virginia Kendall
• Winter 2020: Virginia Kendall

Immigrants' Rights Clinic

The Immigrants' Rights Clinic provides legal representation to immigrant communities in Chicago, including individual representation of immigrants in removal proceedings, immigration-related complex federal litigation, and policy and community education projects on behalf of community-based organizations. Students will interview clients, develop claims and defenses, draft complaints, engage in motion practice and settlement discussions, appear in federal, state, and administrative courts, conduct oral arguments and trials, brief and argue appeals, and engage in media advocacy. In the policy and community education projects, students may develop and conduct community presentations, draft and advocate for legislation at the state and local levels, research and draft public policy reports, and provide support to immigrants' rights organizations.

Past and current projects include challenges to national security detention, a civil rights lawsuit alleging Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment challenges against state law enforcement involved in an arrest that led to deportation, Seventh Circuit appeals of removal orders, representation of asylum seekers and human trafficking victims, suing local police departments for failure to comply with immigration-related Illinois state laws, representing Afghans left behind after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and publication of the first guide to the immigration consequences of criminal convictions for criminal defense attorneys in Illinois.

The seminar will meet for two hours per week and will include classes on the fundamentals of immigration law and policy as well as skills-based classes that connect to the students' fieldwork. Both 2L and 3L students are encouraged to apply. 2Ls must enroll for 2 credits per quarter. 3Ls can enroll for 2 or 3 credits per quarter. Students are encouraged (but not required) to co-enroll in Immigration Law in the fall.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: A. Nicole Hallett
• Winter 2023: A. Nicole Hallett
• Autumn 2023: A. Nicole Hallett
• Autumn 2022: A. Nicole Hallett
• Spring 2022: A. Nicole Hallett
• Winter 2022: A. Nicole Hallett
• Autumn 2021: A. Nicole Hallett
• Spring 2021: A. Nicole Hallett
• Winter 2021: A. Nicole Hallett
• Autumn 2020: A. Nicole Hallett
• Spring 2020: A. Nicole Hallett
• Winter 2020: A. Nicole Hallett

Immigration Law

This course explores the U.S. immigration system. It will focus on the federal laws and policies that regulate the admission and exclusion of immigrants. Topics covered will include: the visa system, deportation and removal, forms of relief from deportation, the law of asylum, immigration enforcement and detention, and proposed reforms to the immigration system. The course will also consider how immigration law connects to both constitutional law and foreign policy. Participation may be considered in the final grading. There will be a final exam.

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: A. Nicole Hallett
• Autumn 2022: A. Nicole Hallett
• Spring 2021: A. Nicole Hallett
• Spring 2020: Adam S. Chilton
• Autumn 2018: Allison Tirres
• Spring 2018: Adam S. Chilton

Insurance Law

This course introduces students to insurance institutions and insurance law, with the ultimate goal of understanding the role of insurance in society. Liability, life, and property insurance will receive the most attention, but we will also discuss health and disability insurance. After taking this course, students will know how to read and analyze a standard form insurance contract, how to work with insurance regulatory materials, how to spot the insurance issues in a wide variety of legal and public policy contexts, and will have a more advanced understanding of Tort and Contract law. Cross-cutting themes of interest include the effects of insurance on tort law and on litigation, the formation and performance of insurance contracts, the use of personal attributes to classify policyholders' risk, the effect of insurance on risky activity in society, and the ways in which various conceptions of justice are achieved through insurance mechanisms.

This class has a final exam.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Omri Ben-Shahar
• Spring 2021: Omri Ben-Shahar
• Spring 2020: Omri Ben-Shahar

Intellectual Property-based Finance and Investment

Developed world corporations today are focused on an innovation heavy, tangible asset-lite model while exporting manufacturing, a lower margin enterprise. The trend is demonstrated by increased levels of R&D in innovation-driven industries, a doubling of issued patents outstanding and material, concentrated changes in the underlying IP law. While IP valuation, implementation and technological trends are coming to dominate many forms of investing, optimal risk adjusted returns morph with levels in the equity and credits markets and changes in IP law. This course will review these trends, explain the range of IP investment types (liquid/Illiquid, public/private, cash/derivative) and illustrate how insight into IP can drive investment and capital market decision making. Final grade will be based on a major paper (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Autumn 2022: Michael Friedman
• Autumn 2021: Michael Friedman
• Autumn 2020: Michael Friedman
• Autumn 2019: Michael Friedman
• Autumn 2017: Michael Friedman

Introductory Income Taxation

This class provides an introduction to the design and operation of the federal income tax. Topics covered in this class include the definition of income, deductions, the tax treatment of gains and losses generated by sales and other dispositions of assets, realization and other timing issues, and tax shelters. The class uses a combination of lectures, problems, and class discussions to teach students about the interplay of the Internal Revenue Code, regulations and other agency interpretations of the Code, and judicial opinions in the administration of tax law. This class will also look into the policies underlying the design of the tax system. There are no prerequisites for this course. This class has a final exam.

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Julie Roin
• Autumn 2022: Julie Roin
• Spring 2022: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Autumn 2021: Julie Roin
• Autumn 2020: Julie Roin
• Spring 2020: Daniel Hemel
• Autumn 2019: Julie Roin
• Spring 2019: Daniel Hemel
• Autumn 2018: Julie Roin
• Spring 2018: Dhammika Dharmapala
• Winter 2018: Daniel Hemel
• Autumn 2017: Julie Roin

Land Use

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 land use patterns, economic efficiency, distributive justice, social relations, and the environment. The grade is based on a final examination.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Richard Epstein

Law and Economic Development

Why do some nations perform better than others, whether measured by income, happiness, health, environmental quality, educational quality, freedom, etc.? What can be done to help the world's poor? We explore the proximate causes of inequality across countries, including the role of human capital, natural resources, technology and market organization. We also explore the root causes of long term differences in wealth, including the role of geography (e.g., location in tropical areas) and technological development (e.g., the impact of plow agriculture). We spend a substantial amount of time on the role of institutions, broadly defined, on development. We will explore the value of democracy, the common law, and state capacity generally. We will study the impact of disruptions such as the slave trade, colonialism and war. Ultimately, we will try to understand the implications of each explanation for development policy. Importantly, we will also consider how the lessons law and economics offers for countries with weak state capacity and limited rule of law differ dramatically from those it offers for countries such as the US. Students will be required to complete a review and critical analysis of the literature on a specific topic in development. The topic must be approved by the professor. The paper length is 6000-7500 words.

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Anup Malani
• Autumn 2021: Anup Malani
• Winter 2021: Anup Malani

Law and the Economics of Natural Resources Markets

Market-based mechanisms such as emissions trading are becoming widely accepted as cost-effective methods for addressing environmental concerns, especially as societies move towards a carbon-constrained future. In the last decade, we have witnessed the expansion of environmental finance to new products - carbon dioxide spot and futures contracts, sulfur dioxide futures and over-the-counter water contracts - that are now fully integrated financial instruments for hedging and speculation. These mechanisms also have potential benefits to address issues in other pressing matters such as water quality, fisheries and biodiversity protection.

Non-law students must apply by emailing a resume and letter of interest to Levi Haas at lhaas@uchicago.edu by Feb. 29.

This class requires a series of research papers (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Richard Sandor
• Spring 2023: Richard Sandor
• Autumn 2021: Richard Sandor
• Spring 2020: Richard Sandor
• Spring 2019: Richard Sandor

LGBT Law

This seminar examines the treatment of gender, sexual orientation and related questions of sexuality and identity in the U.S. legal system. The course emphasizes constitutional jurisprudence and theory with a particular focus on the First Amendment and the equal protection and due process guarantees, and statutory antidiscrimination provisions. Topics covered include marriage rights, student speech, the definition of sex under the equal protection guarantee and statutory antidiscrimination provisions, the rights of students to access sex segregated facilities, public and private workplace concerns, rights of intimate and expressive association, and asserted conflicts between religious liberty, free speech rights, and nondiscrimination principles.

The course requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). The paper will be a mock appellate brief.

Participation may be considered in final grading.

A constitutional law course is recommended but not required prior to taking this class.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2023: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2022: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2021: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2020: Camilla Taylor
• Winter 2019: Camilla Taylor

Life (and Death) in the Law

This seminar will explore the various definitions and valuations of life across diverse areas of the law. Readings will include seminal cases in reproductive rights, assisted suicide, right-to-die, and capital punishment. Background readings in related areas, i.e., scientific journals, papers, etc. will also be required. The seminar will discuss policy decision-making including actuarial analysis and social, medical and religious values inherent, implicit or ignored in the legal analysis. Students will be required to write three response papers, co-draft a statute in one area of law, and participate in jury deliberations. Grade will also be based on class participation. This is a biddable class. Priority registration to 3L students.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2022: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2021: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2020: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2019: Herschella Conyers
• Spring 2018: Herschella Conyers

Microeconomics

This course will provide an introduction to microeconomics that will serve as a foundation for applying economics to law and current policy topics. We will cover supply, demand and market equilibrium; the incidence of taxes and subsidies; price and non-price allocation; efficiency and distribution; market structure and power; among other topics. The course will illustrate each of these concepts with application to the legal system, legal rules and legally salient policy, e.g., the market for lawyers, contract law, and crime policy. This course is different than a law and economics course in two ways. First, it spends more time teaching economics. Second, the goal is to enable you to apply economics beyond law to policies that lawyers may care about, e.g., supply of reproductive services, the distributive effects of loan forgiveness, and the effect of antidiscrimination law. This course will require students to be able to do some basic algebra and some elementary calculations.

This course will have a final exam. Participation may be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Anup Malani
• Winter 2023: Anup Malani

Oil and Gas Law

The basic law relating to the exploration, production, and development of oil and gas. The principal topics covered are: (1) ownership interests in natural resources, (2) leasing and field development, (3) the classification and transfer of production interests, and (4) regulation of field operation -- pooling, unitization, and environmental controls. Taxation and post-production marketing controls are not covered. This class has a final exam.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Richard Helmholz

Pandemic Legal Impacts

This class evaluates the many changes to the legal landscape that the current pandemic has forged. We will explore the legal impacts of prior pandemics, as they were evidenced through case law and laws existing prior to the current pandemic. We will examine developments in different areas of the law, including commercial contracts, employment, privacy, and regulatory compliance. As to commercial contracts, we will consider the applicability and enforceability of force majeure clauses. With respect to employment and privacy, we will review the effect of the pandemic on the traditional notion of the workplace and the resulting legal implications of the work from home or remote work phenomenon. We will also consider the employment and privacy implications of vaccine mandates and testing requirements. We will explore the regulatory compliance changes arising out of the pandemic, including anti-price gouging laws and antitrust measures. We will consider what gaps remain in the legal landscape in light of the pandemic and which changes should remain after this pandemic has concluded. This class requires a major paper (6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading. The instructor's name for the course is Elizabeth Sheyn Brown.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Maher Haddad
• Spring 2023: Maher Haddad
• Autumn 2022: Elizabeth Sheyn

Poverty and Housing Law Clinic

This clinic is a multi-quarter clinic spanning over winter and spring quarters. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, Matthew Desmond concludes that evictions are not a symptom of poverty. They are a direct cause. In the Poverty and Housing Law Clinic, you will learn how to defend low-income tenants (many of whom have disabilities or young children, or are victims of domestic violence) against unwarranted evictions. Many of these tenants live within just a few miles of The Law School. You will attend weekly lectures about subsidized housing programs, eviction actions, trial practice, housing discrimination, the intersection between domestic violence and housing, and the extensive and often misunderstood connection between criminal law and subsidized housing. Most important, you will work twelve hours a week in the Housing Practice Group at Legal Aid Chicago, the Midwest's largest provider of free civil legal services to the poor. Every year more than 30,000 people call Legal Aid Chicago seeking our assistance. And every year the Housing Practice Group represents hundreds of tenants facing eviction from the only housing they can afford. We also help clients preserve their tenant-based rental assistance, gain admission to subsidized housing developments, force landlords to make necessary repairs, and challenge illegal discrimination.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Dennericka Brooks
• Winter 2024: Dennericka Brooks
• Winter 2023: Dennericka Brooks
• Spring 2023: Dennericka Brooks
• Spring 2022: Lawrence Wood
• Winter 2022: Lawrence Wood
• Spring 2021: Lawrence Wood
• Winter 2021: Lawrence Wood
• Spring 2020: Lawrence Wood
• Winter 2020: Lawrence Wood
• Spring 2019: Lawrence Wood
• Winter 2019: Lawrence Wood

Privacy

This course surveys legal efforts to draw boundaries between the public and private spheres. Substantive topics of discussion may include privacy tort law, the constitutional right to information privacy, financial privacy, Internet and consumer privacy; health privacy; FTC privacy regulations; state data protection laws, European privacy law; the relationship between privacy and the First Amendment; and restrictions on governmental investigations and surveillance.

The student's grade is based on a final examination and class participation.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Lior Strahilevitz

Project and Infrastructure Development and Finance

This seminar is focused on the development and project financing of infrastructure facilities. These transactions feature a wide variety of commercial agreements and financial instruments, legal and financial structuring, and a significant role for lawyers. Public private partnership structures will be examined. Representative transactions, principally in the energy, transportation and public infrastructure sectors, will be selected for analysis and discussion. Infrastructure projects such as these provide a convenient vehicle for discussion of contractual provisions, structuring parameters, financial analysis, and legal practice issues common to a broad range of business and financial transactions. The classes will be discussion oriented; there will be 3-4 short papers, an analytical paper of at least 3000 - 3800 words based on a case study and class participation may be considered in final grading. There are no pre-requisites, although basic corporation law is recommended. The readings will be taken from textbooks, professional journals, and actual commercial and financial contracts. A speaker from the financial community with a wide range of experience is expected. Enrollment is limited to 20 students. This is a condensed class meeting from 4:00-7:35PM on September 27, October 11, October 25, and November 8 and 29.

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Martin Jacobson
• Autumn 2022: Martin Jacobson
• Autumn 2021: Martin Jacobson
• Autumn 2020: Martin Jacobson
• Autumn 2019: Martin Jacobson
• Autumn 2018: Martin Jacobson
• Autumn 2017: Martin Jacobson

Real Estate Transactions

Real Estate Transactions will focus on the lawyer's role in structuring and negotiating investments in commercial real estate. The course will explore legal and related business issues encountered when acquiring, selling and financing commercial real estate investments, including through mortgage and mezzanine debt and will also focus on "joint ventures" and other capital aggregation vehicles. Our goal in the course is to provide you with an understanding of how an attorney can be most effective in negotiating and documenting sophisticated real estate transactional agreements. Students will learn to look at the motives, goals and roles of each party to a transaction and to make sure that the legal structure most efficiently accommodates the client's business objectives. Final grade will be based on three or four short projects and class participation.

Previously:

• Spring 2023: Andrew D. Small
• Autumn 2023: Andrew D. Small
• Autumn 2021: Andrew D. Small
• Winter 2021: Andrew D. Small
• Winter 2020: Andrew D. Small
• Winter 2019: Andrew D. Small
• Winter 2018: Andrew D. Small

Regulation of Sexuality

This course explores the many ways in which the legal system regulates sexuality, sexual identity, and gender and considers such regulation in a number of substantive areas as well as the limits on placed on such regulation by constitutional guarantees including free speech, equal protection, and due process. Readings include cases and articles from the legal literature together with work by scholars in other fields. . The grade is based on a substantial paper (6000-7500 words) or a series of short papers, with class participation taken into account.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2023: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2022: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2021: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2020: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2019: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2018: Mary Anne Case

Reproductive Health and Justice

In 2022 we saw a once-in-a-generation seismic shift in the legal framework governing the right to obtain reproductive health care in the United States with the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. This course will examine the historical evolution of the right to abortion from Roe v. Wade through Dobbs, and how states both hostile and protective with regard to reproductive rights are attempting to respond since Roe has been overturned. It will also consider the shortcomings of legal approaches to securing reproductive health, and the critiques and insights offered by the reproductive justice movement.

This class requires a major paper of 6000-7500 words. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2024: Emily Werth
• Winter 2023: Emily Werth

Resolving Mass Tort Liability

Mass tort liabilities, which are generally liabilities owed by a company to multiple individuals arising from damages tied to that company, are complicated, costly, and can drag on for decades. The classic example is liability related to asbestos-containing products, but more recent mass torts, such as Purdue's liability related to its sale of opioids, demonstrate the complexity, public attention, and high costs that make resolving mass tort liabilities so difficult.

This course will begin with an overview of the traditional options companies can use to resolve mass tort liability in the legal system, which include class actions, multi-district litigation, and settlements. The course will then explore how various companies have attempted to resolve their mass tort liabilities using these methods, and will conclude with an evaluation of the role that bankruptcy can play in the resolution of mass tort liabilities.

Students will be evaluated on three brief papers (totaling 6000-7500 words): a client memorandum and two draft pleadings. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Students may benefit from having previously taken a bankruptcy or products liability class.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Amanda Johnson

Structuring Financial Instruments

This seminar introduces tax, legal, accounting and economic principles relevant to the structuring of complex financial instruments-from forwards, swaps and options to convertible bonds and other securities with embedded derivatives. Throughout the seminar, different products designed to achieve similar economic goals will be examined to highlight the significance of structuring choices and the range of techniques available. For example, there are various products that can be used to approximate the economics of buying an asset, without an actual purchase of that asset. The seminar will examine how these products are treated differently for tax, securities law, commodities law, bankruptcy, accounting and other purposes, notwithstanding their economic similarity. Students will develop the ability to optimize transactions by selecting among existing financial instruments or inventing new ones. The seminar will also include discussion of policy issues. No specific prerequisites, but introductory income tax recommended, and knowledge of securities law and bankruptcy law helpful. The seminar will be assessed via a) a series of reaction papers (2 credits) or b) via a full-length research paper of 6000-7500 words (3 credits and has the potential to satisfy the Writing Project requirement). Class participation and attendance will be considered in the final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Keith Crow, Mike Carew
• Spring 2023: Stephen Ritchie, Jason Sussman and Mike Carew

Tort Law and Moral Psychology

This seminar studies how people's moral intuitions and moral commitments affect tort law. Tort law sometimes (but not always) reflects widespread views about what is morally right and wrong, so tort offers a valuable opportunity to study how people's moral psychology interacts with a major area of law. The seminar begins with an introduction to major topics in the field of moral psychology, such as how people make moral judgments, how children learn moral concepts, and why people often disagree about moral questions. The seminar then turns to the "moral psychology of tort law." Here, the seminar draws on existing experiments and theories to examine topics such as how people evaluate the morality of negligence and of strict liability, how people define the "reasonable person" standard, and how jurors in tort cases are sometimes influenced by their intuitions about what is morally right and wrong. Students are asked to participate in class discussion and to submit short essays. All are welcome, and no prior knowledge of moral psychology is required. This class requires a series of research papers (totaling 6000-7500 words). Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Philip Petrov

Toxics and Toxic Torts

This course will expose students to common law and administrative approaches for addressing actual and potential public health and environmental harms from toxic substances. The course will begin by examining concepts of risk assessment and risk management. Next, the course will look at common law approaches, including theories of liability, causation, admissibility of evidence, proximate cause, damages, and defenses. The course will then review in-depth federal laws to address these issues, such as statutes that cover solid and hazardous waste (RCRA and CERCLA (Superfund)) and potentially toxic products (FIFRA, TSCA). The course is a complement to Professor Kim's Environmental Law: Air, Water, and Animals course; neither is a prerequisite for the other, and the two share little overlap.

Previously:

• Autumn 2023: Mark N Templeton

Tragedies and Takings: Selected Topics in Land Use and Resource Allocation

This seminar will examine dilemmas in the use of land and other resources from legal, theoretical, and policy perspectives. We will start with the familiar tragedy of the commons, and then turn to the literature on anticommons and semicommons regimes. With those templates in mind, we will examine how issues such as land assembly, conservation, and urban policy might be addressed, with a particular focus on the challenges of managing conflict and change over time. We will consider eminent domain and its alternatives, and will also spend significant time on the case law and theory surrounding implicit takings (including physical takings, regulatory takings, and judicial takings). The student's grade will be based on a paper (6000-7500 words) and class participation.

Students who fulfill the class requirements will be eligible for a WP. To receive an SRP, students must meet additional requirements, including timely submission of an initial draft for purposes of receiving feedback.

Property is a recommended prerequisite but not required.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Lee Fennell

Transgender Rights & the Law

This seminar examines the treatment of gender identity in the U.S. legal system. The course emphasizes historical and social construction of transgender and gender nonconforming identities and the regulation of them and protections based on such actual or perceived identities. This course emphasizes statutory criminalization and protections as well as constitutional jurisprudence and theory with a particular focus on equal protection, due process, and eighth amendment guarantees. Topics covered include criminalization of gender expression, medicalization of gender, access to health care, the definition of sex under the equal protection guarantee and statutory nondiscrimination provisions, issues regarding access to sex-segregated facilities and activities, public and private workplace concerns, as well as current legislative developments. This seminar will require a series of reaction papers. Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Kara Ingelhart
• Spring 2023: Kara Ingelhart and Emma Cone-Roddy

Trusts and Estates: Wealth Management and Transmission

This course examines the law and practice of private wealth management and transmission, typically within the family and often across generations. Among the topics covered are: (1) the policy basis of inheritance and the changing character of intergenerational wealth transfer; (2) intestate succession; (3) the execution and revocation of wills; (4) the rise of will substitutes, including revocable trusts, life insurance, and pension and retirement accounts; (5) spousal protection against disinheritance; (6) the creation, modification, and termination of trusts; (7) the particular rules applicable to charitable trusts; (8) the fiduciary duties of trustees, the principles governing trust investments, and the emerging use of directed trusts; and (9) the nature of a beneficiary's interest in trust, the range of the trustee's discretion, and the rights of a beneficiary's creditors, with special reference to discretionary, spendthrift, and asset protection trusts. The provisions of the Uniform Trust Code, Uniform Probate Code, and other uniform laws will be emphasized. The final examination will be open book.

Participation may be considered in final grading.

Previously:

• Winter 2023: Thomas P. Gallanis
• Spring 2022: Thomas P. Gallanis
• Winter 2021: Thomas P. Gallanis
• Winter 2020: Thomas P. Gallanis
• Winter 2019: Thomas P. Gallanis
• Autumn 2017: Thomas P. Gallanis

Workshop: Regulation of Family, Sex, and Gender

This workshop exposes students to recent academic work in the regulation of family, sex, gender, and sexuality and in feminist theory. Workshop sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers from outside speakers and University faculty. The substance and methodological orientation of the papers will both be diverse. Students have the option of writing a major research paper for SRP or WP credit (6000-7500 words) or short reaction papers commenting on the works-in-progress presented.

Previously:

• Spring 2024: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2024: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2023: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2023: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2022: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2021: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2021: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2020: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2020: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2019: Mary Anne Case
• Autumn 2018: Mary Anne Case
• Spring 2018: Mary Anne Case
• Winter 2018: Mary Anne Case