Spring 2027 Course List

Hones advanced analytical writing skills, with an emphasis on preparing for the writing portions of the Bar exam. Through repeated practice and regular feedback, students develop the skills of issue spotting, effective organization, clear explanation, and thorough analysis, which are critical for success on the MEE and MPT (50% of the bar exam). As a basis for practicing these skills, students review the substantive law of civil procedure, criminal law, and property. Enrollment is limited to students in their final semester of law school.

Prerequisites: Limited to 3Ls & LLMs only

Taxation of corporate reorganizations and carryover of tax attributes.

Over the past few years, evolving punishment views, paired with advances in science and technology, have produced significant changes in Eighth Amendment law. Bail practices, how fines may be levied against criminal offenders, and what constitutes “cruel and unusual punishments” are all in question. In this Edited Writing seminar, we will study cases and commentaries on the Eighth Amendment, focusing on the meaning of the Amendment, the Court’s interpretation of it, and litigants’ responses to rapidly changing law and developing facts. We will focus on some narrow issues like the many recent botched executions, as well as broader issues such as past and current punishment practices, and the role of factors like race and science in Eighth Amendment decisions. Students will apply what they learn to authoring a novel paper on Eighth Amendment law. 

Prerequisites: Criminal Law; Int'l LLMs must gain approval prior to enrolling

This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of the bar exam and strategies for exam and career success, with a focus on the development of problem solving and legal reasoning skills. The class is two credit hours and is pass/fail. Throughout the semester, students will practice answering multiple-choice and essay exam questions in selected subjects tested on the bar exam. This course is intended to supplement, but not to replace, participation in a commercial bar review course. Students are strongly encouraged to take a commercial bar preparation course to enhance their chances of passing the bar exam. This course is limited to students in their last year before graduation.

Prerequisites: Limited to 3Ls only

This seminar builds on the legal research materials and methods studied in the first-year legal research course and emphasizes effective research techniques. Research topics vary each semester but generally include judicial opinions, statutes, legislative history, court rules, administrative law, secondary sources, foreign and international law, and research databases used in law practice. Students must bring to class their own computer that is capable of connecting to the law school's wireless network.

This class is designed for students who wish to improve their editorial and writing skills. It targets students who are already competent writers, but it requires no in-depth knowledge of grammar or rhetoric. The course covers issue framing, readability, and writing efficiently.

Students are selected as a member of an advocacy competition team representing the School of Law in one of several inter-school competitions in which the School of Law participates each year. One hour for each competition up to a maximum of 4 hours can be earned.

Designed to provide a general introduction to advocacy and is required for students who wish to be considered for involvement with SMU’s travelling advocacy teams. The course includes units on public speaking; communications theory; ethics; and introductions to appellate and trial advocacy, negotiations and mediation, and transactional skills. Students have opportunities to develop the concepts underlying the professional skills being taught through multiple opportunities for performance through participation on an off-campus team or in an on-campus competition.

Every contemporary lawsuit and arbitration involves electronically stored information (ESI), and the rise of Artificial Intelligence is reshaping how lawyers engage with that evidence. This course introduces students to the governing legal frameworks—the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and related evidentiary doctrines—while placing particular emphasis on the operation and application of AI in discovery practice. Students learn not only the traditional requirements of records retention; litigation holds; spoliation; admissibility; and the use of consultants, special masters, and e-mediation; but also how AI systems function; their strengths and limitations; and the ethical implications of their use. Through practical exercises, students examine how AI is applied in day-to-day legal practice, including document classification, privilege and responsiveness review, fact investigation, narrative and timeline construction, and the broader management of complex data sets in litigation.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how lawyers research, draft, advise, and bill, and how the legal system treats the people it serves. This course examines the ethical obligations that govern a lawyer’s use of AI and the broader ethical questions AI raises for law and society. Anchored in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and ABA Formal Opinion 512, the course studies competence and technological literacy, confidentiality and vendor data practices, candor to tribunals, communicating and advising clients about AI use, fees, and the supervision of AI tools and the people who use them. It then turns to the societal ethics of AI: algorithmic bias and discrimination, transparency and explainability, accountability, privacy, and emerging AI governance and regulation. Students learn the material by doing the work of a lawyer: analyzing a real AI product’s terms of service under the Rules, sitting as a grievance panel in a simulated attorney-discipline hearing arising from AI misuse and drafting the resulting opinion, commenting on a pending AI regulation, and drafting an AI-use policy for a small firm. The course closes with a short, in-class reflective essay in which each student sets out, for an incoming law student, how a responsible lawyer should understand and use AI. The course satisfies the Professional Writing requirement and is designed as an experiential simulation course. No technical background is required.

Focuses on the practical application of generative artificial intelligence in everyday legal work. Through a series of exercises and simulations, students gain hands-on experience using AI tools to conduct legal research, draft documents, enhance client communications, and more. The course offers opportunities to evaluate and refine AI-generated work product in realistic legal practice scenarios.

Teaches students how to effectively use generative artificial intelligence to draft pre-litigation documents common to legal practice. Using a hands-on approach in class, students learn to prompt, research, draft, and revise legal documents using AI tools. Through this course, students gain a deeper understanding of the pre-litigation process and how generative AI impacts the researching, writing, and editing process. Students also assess the strengths and limits of various AI platforms and learn best practices. By integrating AI in the process of pre-litigation, this course aims to prepare students to use AI effectively and ethically in legal practice.

Explores both traditional labor law (Railway Labor Act and National Labor Relations Act) and employment law as it applies specifically to the airline and railroad industries. Discusses the concept of “systemwide” crafts and classes under the Railway Labor Act in comparison with appropriate bargaining units under the National Labor Relations Act. Examines the more limited statutory weapons available to both parties under the Railway Labor Act. Considers the fundamental differences between the National Labor Relations Act (which governs the majority of the private sector and the U.S. Postal Service) and the Railway Labor Act (which governs airlines and railroad as well as “derivative carriers”). Discusses the importance of arbitration in airline and railroad labor and employment law, including when claims under various employment laws may be preempted by the Railway Labor Act and thus need to be arbitrated as “minor disputes.” Explores topics unique to industry, including the effect of mergers in the airline industry and the role of various relevant agencies (for example, the National Mediation Board and the Department of Transportation).

This class will allow students to thoroughly experience every angle of a Series A venture capital transaction, from the term sheet through the financing documents to the closing binder and securities filings. The class will discuss and explore considerations and dynamics from each side of the table – company and investor, and prepare students to advise both sets of clients.

Prerequisites: Intro. to Venture Transactions

A survey of the federal antitrust laws as they relate to mergers, monopolization, and price discriminations, and horizontal and vertical restraints of trade, including price fixing, refusals to deal, territorial and product divisions, tie-ins, exclusive dealing, resale price maintenance, and customer restrictions. The course will also cover enforcement and the private treble damage remedy, including the concepts of antitrust standing and antitrust injury.

This introductory course exposes students to a broad range of legal issues posed by the increasing use of artificially intelligent systems across various sectors of society and business. Beyond the mechanics of the relevant technology, this course examines how the emergence of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in various forms, from algorithmic decision-making in social media to the use of AI in surveillance, poses new challenges to the legal order. In doing so, this course considers the broader jurisprudential impact of cyberlaw on AI systems while simultaneously drilling down to very practical considerations faced by lawyers encountering such systems in client products or litigated disputes.

An introduction to federal and state law governing the debtor-creditor relationship: enforcement of judgments; attachment, garnishment, and sequestration; fraudulent conveyances; and bankruptcy as affecting secured and unsecured creditors under the Bankruptcy Code.

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.

Introduces vocabulary, concepts, and skills needed to effectively understand how business works so students are able to communicate with and advise business clients (including as regulatory and litigation counsel). The course is not designed to go in-depth, but moves quickly over key business concepts and terminology. Students learn from expert SMU faculty (including from the Cox School of Business) and from industry experts, both lawyers and business professionals. A background in finance, accounting, or business is neither required nor expected

In-depth study of corporate reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Prerequisites: Creditors' Rights (May be taken concurrently)

Provides students with insight into civil practice and case management, as well as an opportunity to strengthen their research and writing skills. To begin the semester, students receive a “filed” federal complaint evincing a civil commercial dispute and alleging claims sounding in contract, tort, and equity. Students represent either a defendant or a plaintiff defendant and spend the semester learning and performing early case assessment tasks including, but not limited to, triaging the complaint, pre-answer motion practice, procedural motion practice, “issue spotting” and strategizing defenses, answering the complaint, commencing discovery, and filing dispositive motions. The course emphasizes (1) relevant resources to consider when drafting (and filing) motions, answers, and discovery requests; (2) proper organization and form of written submissions, (3) persuasive argument and briefing strategies; and (4) strategic, analytical, and practical considerations in litigation practice.

Develops lawyering skills and analytic methods for developing those skills. Clinic students represent indigent clients in actual cases involving disputes related to deceptive trade practices, consumer credit and debt, tenants’ and civil rights, and housing and real estate, among others. Classroom instruction uses the actual cases to develop skills such as interviewing, counseling, fact investigation and discovery, case planning, negotiation, drafting of pleadings, motions and memoranda, and pretrial and trial advocacy. Special emphasis is placed on access to justice, professional responsibility, and strategic planning. Throughout the course, a combination of teaching methods are employed, including one-on-one case supervision, classroom instruction, and simulations.

Prerequisites: Professional Responsibility may be taken concurrently; Completion of all first year courses; Good academc standing; By selection only

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Civil Clinic

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Civil Clinic

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Civil Clinic

This course examines constitutional issues arising during the post-investigation state of a criminal case, such as custody and release pending trial, preliminary hearings, the grand jury, joinder and severance, discovery, plea bargaining, trial procedures, double jeopardy, sentencing, and post-conviction remedies. Students taking this course may not take Constitutional Criminal Procedure: Survey.

Prerequisites: Students taking this course may not take Constitutional Criminal Procedure: Survey

An examination of methods of constitutional interpretation, the role of judicial review, federal power, separation of powers, federalism, and justiciability.

An examination of methods of constitutional interpretation, the role of judicial review, federal power, separation of powers, federalism, and justiciability.

An examination of methods of constitutional interpretation, the role of judicial review, federal power, separation of powers, federalism, and justiciability.

A study of individual rights including such areas as equal protection of the law and due process of law, with particular emphasis on issues of racial discrimination, gender discrimination, and the right to privacy. Depending on the Professor, this course may also include freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

A study of state and federal regulation of credit and non-credit consumer transactions. Special attention will be paid to state and federal legislation regarding unfair and deceptive trade practices embodied in the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Other areas of study include the federal Truth-in-Lending, Fair Credit Reporting, Equal Credit Opportunity, and Fair Debt Collection Acts, state and federal warranty law, as well as contractual and procedural devices designed to facilitate collection. The course will also include study of traditional private and public remedies and the means of achieving them as well as special problems and issues arising in connection with resolving consumer disputes in the world of e-commerce.

A detailed study of the 1976 Copyright Act as well as other means of obtaining legal protection for literary, musical, and artistic works, including unfair competition, tort, and implied contract.

Corporate & Transactional Legal Research is a specialized legal research class designed for students who are interested in practicing corporate and transactional law. Students will develop advanced proficiency in case law and statutory research, regulatory materials, secondary sources, and other fundamental research concepts utilized in a corporate law practice. The course will focus on locating and evaluating primary and secondary sources that can be used to research issues involving business transactions, securities offerings, corporate governance, and a number of related topics. Assignments and in-class exercises will simulate activities frequently performed by transactional attorneys.

Examines the legal and economic structures that allocate power, accountability, and value within the modern corporation, and asks how law shapes the relationships among boards, managers, shareholders, and other constituencies, and between the corporation and society. The seminar is built around unpublished works in progress presented by nationally recognized visiting legal scholars. There is no casebook. Subjects vary from year to year with the scholars and the papers they bring and typically include theories of the corporate entity and the role of the corporation in society, corporate reputation, fiduciary duty and board oversight, the allocation of control and shareholder voting, mergers and acquisitions, and disclosure and securities regulation. Prerequisite: LAW 6420 – Business Enterprise.

Prerequisites: Business Enterprise

Students enrolled in the Crimes Against Women Clinic (also known as the “Hunter Clinic”) provide representation to survivors of gender-based harms, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Students typically represent clients in family law, humanitarian immigration, or postconviction matters. They also work with institutional partners on policy and advocacy projects that seek long-term solutions to the problem of violence against women. Work on real cases, in combination with faculty supervision and the clinic seminar, allows students to hone a wide range of lawyering skills, both practical and analytical.

Prerequisites: Professional Responsibility may be taken concurrently; Evidence & Family Law are recommended; Completion of first year courses; Good academic standing; By selection only

Includes assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Crimes Against Women Clinic

Includes assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Crimes Against Women Clinic

Includes assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Crimes Against Women Clinic

A practice-based period of study involving representation of indigent clients in Dallas County criminal courts. Classroom instruction and skills training are integrated with actual case work.

Prerequisites: Evidence is a required co-requisite class, meaning you must have either already taken Evidence or be scheduled to take Evidence at the same time you would be in the Criminal Clinic. Recommended classes are Professional Responsibility and Texas Criminal Procedure; Good Academic Standing; Completion of all first year courses

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Criminal Clinic

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Criminal Clinic

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Criminal Clinic

Origins and sources of the criminal law; general principles of criminal law, including actus reus, mens rea, and causation. The elements of some specific crimes, such as homicide and/or theft offenses, may be covered; some conditions of exculpation, such as justification and insanity, may also be considered.

Origins and sources of the criminal law; general principles of criminal law, including actus reus, mens rea, and causation. The elements of some specific crimes, such as homicide and/or theft offenses, may be covered; some conditions of exculpation, such as justification and insanity, may also be considered.

Origins and sources of the criminal law; general principles of criminal law, including actus reus, mens rea, and causation. The elements of some specific crimes, such as homicide and/or theft offenses, may be covered; some conditions of exculpation, such as justification and insanity, may also be considered.

This course provides an introduction to information privacy and security law. Information security and its attendant privacy implications have dominated recent headlines in the wake of electronic intrusions at some of the country's largest and most respected institutions. This course will broadly review the origins and evolution of U.S. information privacy and security law, from Constitutional law, to common law tort and contract principles, to the modern day legislative and regulatory privacy and security frameworks. It will address the latter in the context of recent controversies, including retail data breaches, social media, domestic surveillance, and others. In sum, this course will provide students with a broad introduction to key concepts associated with information privacy and security law and an understanding of how these concepts apply to corporate organizations.

This course will provide a detailed examination of domestic violence (intimate partner violence) and the criminal/civil laws, policies, and practices governing response systems. Students will examine the dynamics of abusive relationships, how cultural attitudes shape reactions, civil and criminal interventions, the United States’ reliance on the criminal justice system to address the issue, and the methodologies employed to increase safety and raise awareness for victims, survivors, and the community at large. Students will develop a framework for understanding and representing people from different races, cultures, economic backgrounds, and lived experiences. Additionally, students will explore ethical representation of survivors/batterers and the defenses available to survivors who commit crimes to avoid abuse. Student learning will consist of practical instruction and exercises to aid them in becoming informed, ethical, and engaged in advocacy throughout their professional careers.

Drafting effective and clear oil and gas contracts; reviewing basic components and building blocks of contracts; translating the business deal into an oil and gas contract; proposing solutions for problems encountered by counsel in the oil and gas industry.

Drafting IP related communications common in legal practice, for clients and other lawyers, inside and outside the firm. Students will prepare legal documents for simulated situations commonly faced by transactional IP lawyers such as: trademark clearance research analysis (with internal email to partner; email to client), demand letter for IP infringement allegations, response to opposing counsel alleging IP infringement, response to 2(d) trademark office action, IP licensing agreement.

Introduces basic due diligence principles and standards, and covers the relevant diligence-related case law. The primary goal is to expose students (through practical skills exercises) to the various components of effective due diligence in real-world transactional settings similar to those they are likely to encounter after entering the practice. Topics include the definition of due diligence; effective due diligence leadership and staffing; the constituents of reasonable due diligence as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the courts; the importance of tools such as forms-driven processes and written memoranda; the significance of red flags in the diligence process; and the responsibilities of buyers, sellers, underwriters, issuers, and their respective diligence team members, including legal counsel.

Prerequisites: Business Enterprise

Examination of the federal law regulating discrimination in employment. The primary emphasis is upon Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, and national origin), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and federal requirements of affirmative action imposed upon government contractors, but other civil rights statutes and the National Labor Relations Act will be treated as they bear upon the subject.

An overview of the entertainment business and its fundamental legal and financial issues. Includes the roles of attorneys and agents, personal and intellectual property rights, motion picture production and distribution, television rights and procedures, literary publishing, and music publishing and sound recordings.

Principles governing the admission and exclusion of evidence, including functions of judge and jury, examination and competency of witnesses, demonstrative evidence, the hearsay rule and its exceptions, burdens of proof and presumptions, privileges, and judicial notice.

This course is highly participatory and examines how the Federal Rules of Evidence and caselaw can be employed to build and present a case more effectively. Prior to each class, students receive a casefile, which may be drawn from a combination of sources, related to a given criminal or civil law topic and are assigned to argue one side of the issue. During the class, students present witness testimony and/or argument on that issue and are expected to employ the Federal Rules of Evidence and caselaw as support. The professor serves as the presiding judge and rules on objections. Students are assigned to draft two written motions and two written responses to their classmates’ motions in advance of class.

Prerequisites: Evidence

Based on authentic transcripts, exhibits and caselaw from famous trials, this Course will teach students the 4-step process that governs the admissibility of every type of evidence in criminal trial. Students will learn the practical application of the rules of evidence that are most likely to confront them in practice and how to arrange an entire body of evidence in a persuasive and legally compliant manner. The skills taught in this course are easily transferrable to civil and patent litigation.

Prerequisites: Evidence

This experiential course builds off of LAW 7367. In this course, the focus is on oral advocacy skills in an international commercial arbitration setting. Prerequisite: Law 7367 Experiential International Commercial Arbitration I.

Prerequisites: Exp. Int'l Comm. Arb. I

The legal problems of the family including marriage, annulment, divorce, legitimacy, custody, support of family members, adoption, and related matters. This course does not include Texas matrimonial property law. If the student plans to take instruction in both courses, this course should be taken first.

Under the supervision of an experienced clinical faculty member, student attorneys in the VanSickle Family Law Clinic represent and provide counsel to low-income clients in matters of family law such as divorce, child custody, possession and access, paternity, modifications, enforcement actions, child and spousal support, and adoption. Through client representation and the clinic seminar, student attorneys have the opportunity to engage in the performance of fundamental lawyering skills necessary for competent representation and zealous advocacy. These skills include but are not limited to, interviewing and counseling clients, negotiating, fact development and analysis, strategic case planning, conflict resolution and decision making, motion and trial practice, drafting legal pleadings and ancillary documents, organization and management of legal work, cultural competency, collaboration and self-evaluation. Student attorneys also collaborate with community-based organizations to provide limited consulting to pro se litigants at organized community legal clinics located in a low-income, culturally diverse area of Dallas.

Prerequisites: Professional Responsibility may be taken concurrently; Completion of first year courses; Good Academic Standing; By selection only

Includes assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Family Law Clinic

Includes assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Family Law Clinic

Includes assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Family Law Clinic

Congressional control of the distribution of judicial power among federal and state courts; practice and procedure in the federal district courts including choice of law, federal question and diversity jurisdiction, and state-federal conflicts.

This externship provides opportunities for students to work in the chambers of the U.S. District Court judges, U.S. Magistrate judges, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judges in the Northern District of Texas, Dallas and Fort Worth Divisions. From time to time, students may also have the opportunity to work with federal judges in the Eastern District of Texas, Plano Division and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Students will be paired with an individual judge, and will work approximately 10-15 hours per week under that judge's supervision for one semester for a total of at least 120 hours. The Federal Judicial Externship also includes a Judicial Externship that will meet for at least fourteen 50-minute hours. Students successfully completing the externship and class will receive three hours credit (based on 2 credits for the externship itself and 1 for the classroom component). The students' primary activities will be research, drafting bench memos, drafting opinions, and observing conferences, motion hearings, and evidentiary hearings. Students will occasionally have the opportunity to prepare short articles for publication. The teacher of the classroom component will also serve as Faculty Supervisor for the externships, while the judges will serve as Field Supervisors.

Prerequisites: Students are only eligible for this course if they have not previously received credit for an externship.

Preparation and trial of tax cases in the federal courts; representation of a taxpayer before the Internal Revenue Service; administrative powers and procedures of the Internal Revenue Service; criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code; accumulations of supporting evidence for a tax plan.

Prerequisites: All first year courses, Income Tax may be taken concurrently

The Tax Clinic is a combination of academic and practical experience. Students represent mostly low-income clients who have tax issues with the Internal Revenue Service. The scope of representation ranges from negotiating settlements and collection plans with the IRS to taking a client’s case to Tax Court or District Court. Participation in the Tax Clinic provides a unique educational experience in which students participate in the representation of actual clients before the IRS. In certain instances, students can participate in Tax Court proceedings and even visit with sitting Tax Court judges in chambers.

Prerequisites: Income Tax may be taken concurrently; Good academic standing; Completion of all first year courses; By selection only

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Federal Tax Clinic

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Federal Tax Clinic

An examination of constitutional issues and interpretation under the First Amendment focusing on freedom of speech and press.

Prerequisites: Con. Law II is recommended

Provides assistance to clients defending and advancing the rights of free press, free speech, petition, and assembly. The seminar component integrates substantive law, theory, core lawyering skills, and legal ethics to provide law students real world law practice experience. Under faculty supervision, student attorneys may handle the following types of cases and matters, among others: defamation defense/representation of witnesses in defamation cases; Texas Citizens Participation Act proceedings (anti-SLAPP); motions to obtain access to civil and criminal court records; challenges to gag orders and protective orders in criminal and civil cases; motions to open courtrooms/motions to photograph, broadcast, or stream court proceedings; issues related to the right to photograph police officers and other government officials in public; motions to quash subpoenas directed to journalists; prepublication review of news articles; individual or group free speech, right to petition, and right of assembly claims; amicus briefs on First Amendment issues; Texas Public Information Act requests/Freedom of Information Act requests. Student attorneys are expected to take the lead in all aspects of their casework and to be professionally responsible for the services they provide on behalf of their clients. Through client representation and the clinic seminar, student attorneys have the opportunity to practice fundamental lawyering skills necessary to provide competent, ethical, and zealous representation. These skills include interviewing and counseling clients; negotiating and interacting with opposing counsel; developing and analyzing facts and legal theories; developing and planning case strategy; and drafting and arguing legal pleadings and motions. Students develop these skills in an atmosphere that promotes collaboration, self-evaluation, and self-reflection.

Prerequisites: Evidence & Con. Law II are recommended; Completion of first year courses; Good academic standing; By selection only

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: First Amendment Clinic

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: First Amendment Clinic

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).

Seminar course examining the issue of “heirs’ property” in probate law and estate planning. Heirs’ property occurs when real property passes from one generation to the next without clear legal transfer of title. Families may live in and maintain a home for years, pay taxes, and treat the property as their own, but still lack the legal ownership needed to make basic decisions about the home, to defend against foreclosure, or to transfer it. This course will explore the prevalence of heirs’ property; foundational causes of heirs’ property in probate and real estate law; the impact of heirs’ property on marginalized communities; and how legal advocacy and legal tools can help address the heirs’ property problem in the United States. Students will engage with primary sources of law (various Estates Codes, the Uniform Probate Code, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, state real property laws, and related case law) as well as secondary materials that analyze the problem and propose solutions for addressing heirs’ property challenges. Students will also be asked to research and present on an heirs’ property topic and to consider potential creative solutions in law or legal practice.

The course analyzes provisions of the U.S. Constitution, Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and other relevant sources that address questions of citizenship and immigration in the U.S. Topics that will be addressed may include laws that regulate the process of acquiring citizenship and losing citizenship, the entry and deportation of non-citizens, and procedural and substantive rights of non-citizens.

Prerequisites: All first year courses; Con. Law I, Con. Law II, and Administrative Law recommended

Introduction to the federal income tax system; analysis of Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, rulings, and case law; consideration of income, deductions, credits, assignment of income, and accounting periods and methods.

An overview of intellectual property law for both students with a general interest in the area and students who are pursuing specialized fields with IP. Beginning with an analysis of the competing theories underlying IP law, it goes on to outline the basic principles of patent copyright, trademark, and trade secret protection, as well as current issues in software protection, biotechnology, and competition policy.

This course focuses on intellectual property licensing, with a particular emphasis on the generation and identification of licensable rights, traditional and online licensing structures, underlying legal principles, international considerations, licensing in a standards body, and the terms of specific license agreements and their negotiation. We will explore licensing concepts and trends through current case law, relevant statutes, and selected articles. The course will include a specific discussion of licensing patents, copyrights, trademarks, technology, software, and general online content.

Internal investigations have become an important component of litigation practice, and junior attorneys are often asked to assist in internal investigations, whether they work for a private firm, a corporation or the government. Learning the basics of internal investigations before undertaking them in practice will be a significant advantage. A properly conducted internal investigation can determine the facts, legal issues, and necessary remedial actions in connection with the conduct at issue. This course will explore why internal investigations are initiated, how they are conducted, and what actions may follow from their results. The course will combine practical considerations that impact internal investigations with the legal parameters controlling them. Specific topics include: identifying the circumstances that trigger internal investigations; developing strategies for planning and conducting internal investigations; determining the proper scope of an investigation; resolving issues regarding the identity of the client and attorney-client privilege; conducting witness interviews; gathering and analyzing documents and data; preparing internal investigation reports; determining the proper course of action with various interested parties; and understanding unique situations relating to the regulatory consequences of investigations, including issues regarding voluntary disclosure.

Prerequisites: Professional Responsibility & Business Enterprise are encouraged

This course will teach research methods to find and evaluate international and foreign legal materials using both electronic and print resources. Its principal purpose is to provide the basic knowledge and skills needed to conduct competent international and foreign legal research. It also has the secondary, but important, goal of expanding on and reinforcing the basic legal research skills that students had earlier gained from the first-year legal research and writing course. In this course, you will become skilled in researching various international and foreign legal sources through practical application in assignments and in-class exercises. In short, this is a course on international and foreign legal research sources and techniques. Students taking this course will need to bring their own laptop computers.

A basic course for U.S. and international students on fundamental legal problems encountered in basic international business transactions (e.g., international sales, licensing and foreign direct investments) and in basic international financial arrangements ( e.g., international letters of credit, syndicated loans, project financing , Eurobond offerings and securitizations), along with selective issues facing the multinational enterprise. Particularly beneficial as a foundation course for the student desiring to pursue the international law area or for the student desiring only a survey of the area.

This is an experiential, collaborative, practical skills course structured around a simulated negotiation exercise in which the students in this class will represent either a multi-national pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) or an African agricultural company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, licensing agreement or long-term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiations.

The course studies the predominant dispute settlement mechanism for resolving cross-border disputes between commercial entities. Increasing cross-border trade in goods and services means that more and more graduates of U.S. law schools must become familiar with the law governing international arbitration and with the procedures used in arbitration. These laws and procedures themselves are more and more transnational, so that participants in arbitration no longer look solely to national laws but must become familiar with legislation, court decisions, arbitral awards, and commentaries from other countries. This course introduces students to this transnational law.

This course will address the topics to consider in internationalizing a franchise, both economically and legally. Each class period will be an in-depth look at either a step in the internationalization process or a major area of consideration before 'going global.' Special attention will be paid to the European Union as well as major emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Middle East, China, South America, India and Asia. Topics will include structuring the franchise, tax, trade, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, and dispute resolution. This is an excellent course for anyone considering franchise law or international business as international franchising is the next big wave in the global economy, and a trend that will continue well past the foreseeable future.

Law review experience involving preparation of comments on topics of current interest, notes on cases of significance, and editorial work incident to publication of The International Lawyer and NAFTA: Law and Business Review of the Americas. Students must be selected for participation before they may register. [Available only for J.D. students.]

Prerequisites: By selection

Law review experience involving preparation of comments on topics of current interest, notes on cases of significance, and editorial work incident to publication of The International Lawyer and NAFTA: Law and Business Review of the Americas. Students must be selected for participation before they may register. [Available only for J.D. students.]

Prerequisites: By selection

Law review experience involving preparation of comments on topics of current interest, notes on cases of significance, and editorial work incident to publication of The International Lawyer and NAFTA: Law and Business Review of the Americas. Students must be selected for participation before they may register. [Available only for J.D. students.]

Prerequisites: By selection

A basic course for U.S. and international students focusing on U.S. citizens, residents, and business entities conducting business or investment outside the United States so-called outbound transactions.

Offers students a hands-on opportunity to learn the applicable law, unwritten rules, psychology, and methods of jury selection. Students learn how to incorporate their trial theme into jury selection, how to anticipate and neutralize opposing counsel’s potential themes and arguments, establish rapport with the venire panel, balance learning about the panel with exercising cause and peremptory strikes, incorporate the client into the process, and prevent error that commonly occurs in jury selection.

Introduces students to the financial structure of major law firms and how these economics impact the firms’ pro bono programs and commitment. The course explores the role that pro bono plays in the greater legal community and in the delivery of legal services to the poor. The course examines the role of legal aid organizations, in-house legal departments, law schools and bar associations on law firm pro bono.

The law practice environment is changing dramatically. This course is designed to teach students how to recognize, react to, and take advantage of such changes. Moreover, it teaches the management and ethical sensitivity which are fundamental to success as a practicing lawyer. Although theory will not be overlooked, this class is designed to be a skills class, giving students the opportunity to make practical application to the principles they learn.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

Students meet in small groups and integrate instruction in research, analysis, and writing as well as instruction in advocacy skills such as brief writing, oral argument, and negotiation. Uses simulated interviewing and negotiation exercises, group discussions, and writing exercises to teach these skills. In the fall, emphasizes research skills and legal analysis; focuses writing instruction on organization and synthesis; and requires students to write an objective legal memorandum containing a well-reasoned, clearly written analysis of several legal issues, substantiated by legal authority in correct citation form. In the spring, involves research and analysis that are more advanced and focuses on persuasive writing. Grades each term are based in large part on one research and writing project.

The MPT is 20% of the Texas Bar Exam and closely mimics the practice of law.  In the MPT, you use basic lawyering skills in a real-life simulation to complete an activity that a new lawyer would be assigned (e.g. memo, brief, or client letter). Using the MPT as our foundation, this course focuses on developing critical lawyering skills including: separating relevant and irrelevant information; extracting relevant legal principles from cases, statutes, and other authorities; applying legal principles to facts to solve a client’s problem; and explaining the law and its application in a clear and well-organized document. The course will be a combination of lecture, class participation, hands-on drills, and peer editing. You will also receive specific feedback on the documents you submit, and be able to meet with the professor one-on-one to continue improving your skills. This course is by invitation only.

Prerequisites: Limited to 2Ls only

SMU’s Legal Writing Fellows work with all law students under the supervision of the LAWR faculty and a Student Director. Fellows keep regular office hours in the Writing Center each week. Fellows are trained to help students recognize global problems in their written work and develop techniques to address these problems and improve their writing skills. In addition to one-on-one meetings with students in the Writing Center, Fellows support LAWR professors by participating in Fall Orientation; completing citation reviews on student work; leading workshops; and participating in class-related activities, such as client interviewing and oral argument.

Prerequisites: LAWR I and II and instructor permission

Examines the lawmaking function of legislatures and agencies, as well as their interaction with the courts. Drawing on examples from a variety of substantive areas, the course covers the legislative process, statutory interpretation, administrative processes, various forms of agency action, and judicial review of agency decisions.

Examines the lawmaking function of legislatures and agencies, as well as their interaction with the courts. Drawing on examples from a variety of substantive areas, the course covers the legislative process, statutory interpretation, administrative processes, various forms of agency action, and judicial review of agency decisions.

Examines the lawmaking function of legislatures and agencies, as well as their interaction with the courts. Drawing on examples from a variety of substantive areas, the course covers the legislative process, statutory interpretation, administrative processes, various forms of agency action, and judicial review of agency decisions.

This class will be a limited enrollment, 'practice skills' seminar designed to build upon the lessons learned in first-year Contracts and first-year Torts, and to apply those lessons to the world of transactional lawyering. Toward that end, the class will study real-world agreements entered into at the early stages of an M&A transaction and provide opportunities for students to comment upon, draft, and negotiate examples of some of those agreements in class, including LOIs, IOIs, Term Sheets, NDAs and side letters to name just a few. While geared toward the M&A world, contract drafting skills learned in this course will be applicable in any transactional practice. The goal of the course is to better equip students to draft transactional agreements, not only by giving students the opportunity to prepare initial drafts of such agreements, just as young associates in a law firm environment would, but also by examining the situations in which errors or lack of clarity in contract drafting gave rise to disputes requiring judicial determination. In other words, don't let the phrase 'practice skills' fool you into thinking we will not be reading cases too. Indeed, for every type of agreement we practice drafting or reviewing, there will be numerous current and classic cases to analyze in class to understand the 'contort' common law that forms the basis for interpreting and enforcing each contractual agreement we draft. To get the most out of this class attendance, preparation and participation will be critical, not only to your own learning experience but also to that of your classmates. Grades will be based on a combination of class performance/class room exercises, and either a short paper or a few short memos prepared about specific drafting issues.

Prerequisites: You cannot enroll in this course if you have already taken Advanced Contracts or Advanced Contracts Drafting.

The midsize and small firm externship program combines a weekly classroom component with hands-on experience in a mid-size or small law firm. Students develop practical skills within the classroom which are enhanced through observational and/or participatory experiences at a law firm. Students apply substantive knowledge in a variety of matters and develop a range of skills and aptitudes necessary for successful lawyering in smaller firm environments. The class addresses time keeping, professionalism and ethics, the client relationship, presentation skills, transactional skills, litigation skills, negotiation skills, the importance of both internal and external relationships, and the importance of asking for and responding to feedback on work.

Prerequisites: Completion of 3 semesters of law school

Reinforces and builds on the communication and negotiation theories and skills learned in LAW 8375 Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research and LAW 8376 Interviewing, Counseling, and Negotiation. Students learn through both class lectures and simulated negotiations, along with reflective exercises. While the course covers all major areas of negotiation theory and style (interest-based, cooperative-competitive, aggressive-competitive, etc.), a major goal is to expose the students, through practical skills exercises, to the various contrasting approaches to negotiation and allow students to determine the style and approach that best fits each student's personality in the context of the diverse legal conflicts likely to be encountered after law school, no matter what nature of practice they later develop. The course is designed to provide students with the fundamental skills, knowledge, and actual experience in real negotiations to lay the foundation for future lawyers to develop and hone their negotiation skills through continuing practice and experience after conclusion of the course.

Provides an introductory overview of the laws governing nonprofit organizations with a primary focus on private foundations. Whether setting up or managing a private foundation for a family, corporation, or other entity, this course provides students with a working knowledge of organizing and understanding the strategic concerns of a private foundation.

An intensive introduction to some of the historical sources of the Constitution. By reference to original source documents, the class considers the common law and other influences on early American government and justice, such as Locke, Montesquieu, and Blackstone’s Commentaries; the colonial experience leading to and immediately following the American Revolution; documents and debate directly relevant to formation of individual constitutional provisions and amendments; and the initial experience and understanding of the Constitution, through to Story’s Commentaries, in addition to later amendments. The class also considers the influence and use of this material on modern interpretation of the Constitution as well as discusses what sources courts consider as a historical source for interpreting the Constitution. Our goal is to orient students to Constitutional interpretive debates and provide helpful framing for how historical material is relevant to interpreting the Constitution.

The formation of partnerships, taxation of partnership income, special allocations, elective basis adjustments, distributions, liquidations, retirements, transfers of partnership interests, and family partnerships.

Prerequisites: Income Taxation

Students provide pro bono legal services to individual and small-business clients seeking to protect their inventions using the patent system. This work may involve counseling clients regarding patent-related matters, conducting inventor interviews, conducting patentability searches, preparing patentability opinions, drafting and filing patent applications, and drafting and filing responses to office actions received from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Prerequisites: See pre-registration materials

Includes assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Patent Clinic

Explores the institutional structure of the U.S. patent system and the roles of the different institutions: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; federal district courts and juries; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; and the U.S. Supreme Court. Covers critiques of this structure and these institutions, with a particular emphasis on critiques of the Federal Circuit. Compares and contrasts the U.S. institutional structure with the structure of the patent system of other countries and regions of the world. Corequesite: Patent Litigation or Patent Prosecution or Professor's permission.

Prerequisites: By selection only; Co-requisites: Patent Litigation or Patent Prosecution or Professor's permission

The course covers substantive and procedural aspects of patent prosecution before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Practical exercises in prosecution practice, such as claim drafting, preparation of amendments, and other prosecution proceedings, will ordinarily be included. Additional prosecution subjects include dealing with inventors, developing invention disclosures, and preparing patent applications.

Prerequisites: Patent Law

Covers pretrial civil litigation procedure, practice, and strategy. Emphasizes participating, developing advocacy skills in the pretrial process, and obtaining a working knowledge of procedural rules governing the pretrial process. A skills course that focuses on the practical application of the civil rules, decision-making, and judgment.

Introduces key accounting and financial principles needed to effectively counsel and represent clients. Students learn to read, understand, and discuss basic accounting statements and basic financial asset valuation principles and methodologies. Also, basic financial instruments and their normal use in major capital markets.

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.

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.

Selected topics in personal property, adverse possession, present possessory and future estates in land, concurrent estates, the law of landlord and tenant, easements, private covenants, public land use regulation, and real estate conveyancing.

Selected topics in personal property, adverse possession, present possessory and future estates in land, concurrent estates, the law of landlord and tenant, easements, private covenants, public land use regulation, and real estate conveyancing.

Selected topics in personal property, adverse possession, present possessory and future estates in land, concurrent estates, the law of landlord and tenant, easements, private covenants, public land use regulation, and real estate conveyancing.

Selected topics in personal property, adverse possession, present possessory and future estates in land, concurrent estates, the law of landlord and tenant, easements, private covenants, public land use regulation, and real estate conveyancing.

Discusses questions of legal structure, legitimacy, design, and implementation of policies to promote public health and reduce the social burden of disease and injury. Topics include public health issues in the news: mass shootings; drug overdoses; new disease epidemics; school BMI “report cards”; data mining to evaluate health care quality and cost; religious objections to immunizations; access to contraceptives; drunk driving; contaminated food, water, and drugs; electronic cigarette regulation; mental health treatment; and hospital patient injuries.

A survey class that covers several fundamental areas relating to the income taxation of property transactions, with a specific focus on real estate investments and structures. Principle topics covered include the effect of liabilities on property, depreciation, like-kind exchanges, limitation on losses, characterization, leasing transactions, and other issues.  

Prerequisites: Income Taxation

Introduces students to scientific developments, ethical dilemmas, and legal disputes surrounding assisted reproduction. Topics include the science and medicine of human procreation, including new and emerging technologies; markets for gametes; the rights and responsibilities of sperm and egg donors; reproductive genetics, including the testing of embryos for medical and social purposes; surrogacy and gestational carrier arrangements; reproductive tourism and cross-border reproductive care; posthumous reproduction; the regulation of reproductive medicine and the fertility industry; as well as international and comparative approaches to reproductive technologies and the law. Grading is based on a final exam, class discussions and active participation, and drafting exercises.

Law Review experience involving preparation of comments on topics of current interest, notes on cases of significance, and editorial work incidental to the publication of the SMU Science and Technology Law Review. Students must be selected for participation before they may enroll. Available to J.D. students only.

Law Review experience involving preparation of comments on topics of current interest, notes on cases of significance, and editorial work incidental to the publication of the SMU Science and Technology Law Review. Students must be selected for participation before they may enroll. Available to J.D. students only.

Law Review experience involving preparation of comments on topics of current interest, notes on cases of significance, and editorial work incidental to the publication of the SMU Science and Technology Law Review. Students must be selected for participation before they may enroll. Available to J.D. students only.

Explores the right to keep and bear arms as a matter of law, as well as how society regulates and enforces access to personal weapons. Examines how gun rights and regulation intersect with lawful self-defense. Covers the foundational Second Amendment case, District of Columbia v. Heller; key lower court opinions; and the broader historical, political, and theoretical debates in which they are embedded. While the dominant focus is on the U.S., the seminar will also draw comparisons with the regulatory approaches in other countries

A study of the securities laws (primarily federal but also state, especially Texas) and of the activities and industry they govern. The principal emphasis is on the regulation of issuance, sale, resale, and purchase of securities, and on the disclosure requirements generated by the registration, reporting, proxy, tender, and antifraud provisions. Other important subjects are civil liability (express and implied), government enforcement, exemptions from registration (especially private placements), insider trading, and the meaning of 'security.' Also treated are the functions of the SEC and of state securities administrators. Broker-dealer and market regulation may be covered if time permits.

Prerequisites: All first year courses, Business Enterprise may be taken concurrently, (Business Planning, Corporate Finance, Law and Accounting are recommended)

This course explores various important and topical issues in the context of sports law, such as the frequently intersecting and synergistic relationship between and among legal norms for sports, media, gaming and entertainment. The course will also address free speech issues for athletes and regulatory and disciplinary authority in professional and amateur sports. Topics will be explored via contemporary legal perspectives and mechanisms  along with making reference to various traditional legal disciplines, such as contracts, torts, copyright, trademark, antitrust, and secured transactions. Students will be expected to delve deeply into a course-related topic by researching and writing a substantial research project with the guidance of the instructor.

The Small Business and Trademark Clinic provides free legal services to individuals, small businesses, and non-profit organizations that generally cannot afford to pay legal fees, while providing law students (associate members of the State Bar of Texas) with training and experience in transactional law and trademark law. Clinic students advise clients on the formation of business and non-profit entities and assist in preparing necessary legal documents to form these entities. Students in the Small Business Clinic experience the transactional practice of law with real clients who have real issues in the business world, such as contract drafting and revising. Clinic students also work on trademarks matters in the Trademark Clinic, which is member of the USPTO Law School Clinic program. Clinic students gain specific experience in advising clients about basic trademark matters as well as drafting, filing, and prosecuting trademark applications with the USPTO. Clinic students accepted for the Small Business and Trademark Clinic should expect to handle both business and trademark matters.

Prerequisites: Business Enterprise; Completion of first year courses; Good academic standing; By selection only

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Small Business & Trademark Clinic

Assisting in preparing and supervising clinic students in client representation, including fact investigations and analysis, legal research and writing, litigation training, and court appearances. Deputies are selected by the clinic instructors. Students may not enroll before being selected.

Prerequisites: Small Business & Trademark Clinic

Preparation of comments on topics of current interest, notes on cases of significance, and editorial work incident to publication of the SMU Law Review and the Journal of Air Law and Commerce. Students must be selected for participation before they may register.

Prerequisites: By selection

Preparation of comments on topics of current interest, notes on cases of significance, and editorial work incident to publication of the SMU Law Review and the Journal of Air Law and Commerce. Students must be selected for participation before they may register.

Prerequisites: By selection

Preparation of comments on topics of current interest, notes on cases of significance, and editorial work incident to publication of the SMU Law Review and the Journal of Air Law and Commerce. Students must be selected for participation before they may register.

Prerequisites: By selection

The goal of this course is not to give the student a comprehensive examination of the substantive tax law of any particular state or locality. While we may look at the Texas Tax Code’s substantive provisions more than any other state, the main focus of the SALT course is to provide the student with a framework for which to think about state and local taxes. You will study the federal constitutional limitations on state and local governments taxing authority; the federal statutory limitations on state and local taxes; and state constitutional limitations on state and local taxes. You will learn the key institutions in U.S. state and local taxes through the lens of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, state Supreme Court decisions and other court decisions examining the various limitations imposed on states and localities with respect to imposition of State and Local Taxes. Note that this is not a tax accounting course nor is it a math course.

The interaction between budgetary demands and revenue policy; equity and fairness of taxation; effect of taxation on business activity; social, political, and economic implications of the tax structure.

Prerequisites: Income Tax

Income, estate, and gift tax law relating to various deferred compensation plans, including profit-sharing, stock bonus, and pension plans; qualified and nonqualified stock options; deferred compensation contract; and restricted property. Corporate, securities, labor, and community property law considered where appropriate.

Prerequisites: Income Taxation and Corporate Taxation

Law of Texas land titles, with title examination practice skills component; recording acts, bona fide purchaser, conveyancing, title standards, land descriptions, adverse possession, title insurance

A detailed survey of the Texas legislative process. The seminar will focus primarily on the operation of the Texas legislature. Other topics will include state agency administrative procedures, state ethics rules, and campaign and lobbying laws that affect state political processes.

The Texas law of marital property; its characterization as separate or community property; its management and liability; and its division on dissolution of marriage by annulment, divorce, or death of a spouse with special attention to the family home and other exempt property.

This course uses a study of plaintiffs’ lawyers as a lens to examine some of the most controversial issues at the intersection of tort law and legal ethics. Specifically, students study who personal injury lawyers are, how industry norms inform their decision making, how they recruit clients, how they finance advertising and litigation, how they bring complex cases to resolution, and how they get paid. Topics include the role and regulation of lawyers; the ethical implications of solicitation and attorney advertising; the use and abuse of the contingent fee; the ethical ramifications of referral fee agreements; the impact of alternative litigation finance; and the ethical challenges posed by class actions, aggregate actions, consolidated proceedings, and multidistrict litigations (MDLs). The final part of the course is a study of some well-known mass tort cases, giving students a chance to apply their newfound knowledge and to see course themes played out in real-world controversies. Ultimately, this course gives students an appreciation for the importance of careful judgement in confronting both the opportunities and pressures they face in a personal injury practice. While these issues are critical for students who are considering joining a plaintiffs’ practice, they are equally relevant to future defense attorneys, who must understand how these rules shape the incentives, behaviors, and strategies of opposing counsel.

This introductory trial techniques course offers students a unique opportunity to learn fundamental trial skills against the backdrop of studying real trials. For example, through the study of unforgettable video footage and trial transcripts, students will examine trial techniques as they were executed in famous trials. Grades will be based on student performances throughout the semester (opening statement, direct examination, cross-examination, and closing argument), written materials associated with the performances, and class participation. At the conclusion of this course, you will have the skills to succeed at an actual trial. For example, you will learn how to speak comfortably in public and craft persuasive arguments that are needed for opening statements and closing arguments. For direct examination, you will learn how to get a reluctant witness to tell a convincing story to a jury and inoculate the witness from cross-examination. On cross-examination, you will learn how to think on your feet, anticipate problems, and become confident in your abilities to make a witness answer your question.

Prerequisites: All first year courses, Evidence may be taken concurrently; Students who have taken Trial Advocacy may not take this class, and students who take this class may not take Trial Advocacy.

Provides an advanced look into the adversarial proceedings conducted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Focuses on the practical aspects of inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR), and covered business method (CBM) review, and examines the strategies and interplay of these proceedings with patent litigation in federal courts. Students conduct a case study of an actual IPR from initial filing to the Federal Circuit, review PTAB rules and orders, draft pleadings, conduct mock oral hearings, and analyze the groundbreaking (and often contradictory) rulings in this relatively new area of law.

Prerequisites: Patent Law or permission of the instructor based on significant experience with patent law

A general survey of the law relating to family wealth transmission, taking into account transfers within the probate system - wills and intestate succession - and transfers outside it, with special attention to trusts. Topics include the legal definition of family relationships; formalities required for execution and revocation of wills and other donative documents; mental capacity and volition; drafting pitfalls, post-execution events, and difficulties of interpretation; legal protections offered to a decedent's spouse and children; will substitutes such as life insurance, pension plans, and rights of survivorship; planning for incapacity and other changes in circumstances; obligations and powers of fiduciaries; rights of creditors and beneficiaries; trust creation, supervision, modification, duration, and termination; charitable purposes; and the impact of tax policy on estate planning.

Hedge funds, private equity funds and other private pooled investment vehicles continue to play an impactful role in the financial marketplace. This course is designed to provide practical learning through the use of a series of simulations where the student will be required to lead a hypothetical client through the process of establishing an investment management business and formation and operation of a private fund. This involves gaining an understanding of (i) the basic differences among the types of funds and investment strategies along with primary fund terms and conditions and (ii) the primary securities laws applicable to forming, operating and making investments for a private fund. The course will be taught with support from Jason Daniel and Burke McDavid who are partners in the investment management practice group of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

This is an advanced criminal law course that covers the substantive law of federal white collar crime including conspiracy, mail fraud, RICO, public corruption, money laundering, financial institution fraud, tax fraud, and environmental crime. The course will also address issues of corporate and executive criminal liability and parallel civil/criminal proceedings.

This course explores the complex body of federal and state laws that protect and regulate wildlife, including those that protect ecosystems and habitats. Wildlife law is centuries old and the course covers its interesting history from English Common Law to the statutes, policies, and regulations that predominate today. The course covers cases, statutory laws, and regulations. It also addresses enforcement of the laws and the constitutional and tribal issues that arise in wildlife cases.