Summer 2024 Course List

This course will examine the policies and the legal framework used to combat human trafficking and hate crimes in the United States. The class will explore strategies to address sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude from several perspectives, including: the prohibition against slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States Constitution; the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (“TVPA”) and federal and state anti-trafficking statutes; criminal investigations and prosecutions of traffickers; and assistance for victims and victims’ rights issues.  Likewise, the class will address the history and evolution of hate crime policies and laws in the United States, as well as hate crime investigations and prosecutions.  The course will also consider the role that law enforcement, the United States government, and non-governmental organizations play in addressing human trafficking and hate crimes.  

Blockchains—decentralized databases that are maintained by a distributed network of computers—present manifold challenges and opportunities, including unprecedented potential to disrupt financial systems, to support civic participation and democratize access to resources, and even to change what we understand “law” to be. As this set of technologies rapidly emerges, we must consider the extent to which we allow regulation and government intervention, balancing the maintenance of social norms against the need to let a nascent technology innovate. This course aims to help each of us unpack the various legal and regulatory levers potentially applicable to these technologies and to consider the design trade-offs inherent in adopting them as part of policy-making and governance.

This is the basic business law course. The emphasis of the first portion of the course is on the closely held business. To be considered are the following: Agency: General principles of the law of agency. Partnerships (general and limited): Formation, control, liabilities, property, dissolution and disposition of business; internal and external relations of partners. Limited Liability Companies and Corporations: Formation, control, allocation concerns; duties, liabilities, and rights of management and shareholders or members; dispute resolution devices; and fundamentals of capitalization and financing (including basic securities financing and securities law concerns, particularly respecting the private exempt offering). The primary emphasis of the second portion of the course is on the widely owned business. In this portion, general corporate governance and capitalization problems (including preferred stock and debt securities structuring) are further explored, along with corporate distributions and repurchases and fundamental corporate changes. Analysis of mergers and acquisitions is emphasized. Depending on available time, emphasis also is placed on the impact of federal securities laws on the corporate governance structure, including discussion of ongoing public disclosure requirements, proxy regulations, and insider trading restrictions and liabilities. The course is transaction-oriented, whereby planning and problem-solving are stressed, and interdisciplinary use of basic taxation, accounting, and finance notions is made. Special attention is given to the modern statutory trends.

This experiential short course on depositions is designed for students who plan to practice litigation, though it will also benefit the transactional lawyer by providing insight into the litigation discovery process. Focuses on the practical aspects of taking, defending, and preparing witnesses for depositions, including depositions of corporate representatives and expert witnesses. Students prepare for, take, and defend depositions using simulated cases. Students also review and comment on depositions of people in well-known cases

The Government and Public Interest Externship Program is an academic program that combines a weekly public sector law class with hands-on fieldwork in nonprofit and government legal departments. Students who pass both the class and externship components receive one credit for the classroom component and 2-3 hours credit for their field work (depending on the hours worked at the placement).

An analysis of principles and rules governing the conduct of lawyers. Topics include the client-lawyer relationship, competence, confidentiality, loyalty, the roles of lawyers as counselors and advocates, public service, advertising, admission to practice, and professional discipline.

Transfer, finance, and development of real property; the real estate sales contract; the duties and remedies of sellers, purchasers, and brokers; conveyancing; title protection, including recording laws, the mechanics of title search, clearing titles, and title insurance; real estate finance, including mortgages and federal programs; condominiums, cooperatives, and shopping centers. Some emphasis on Texas law.