Courses

• LAW BK 988: Mergers and Acquisitions
  This course deals with key issues that arise in bank mergers and acquisitions. Business and transactional topics include: merger and acquisition strategies, deal structure and pricing, hostile takeovers and defenses, duties of directors, disclosure obligations, due diligence, mergers of equals, social issues, tax considerations, and accounting issues. Regulatory topics include: federal and state approval processes, regulatory considerations in the structuring of transactions, antitrust considerations, interstate banking issues, the Community Reinvestment Act, thrift and other nonbank acquisitions, Glass-Steagall and Bank Holding Company Act issues, and cross-industry transactions.
• LAW BK 990: Government Regulation of Insurance
  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as health care reform, is the most important and controversial piece of federal social legislation of this generation. It is also basically an insurance regulatory statute. PPACA establishes a new and complex set of rules governing the operation of the health insurance industry, provides consumers with important rights with respect to access to medical care and imposes obligations with respect to health insurance on both businesses and individuals. The course will look at PPACA and the issues that surrounded its enactment--issues which continue to fuel debate over whether it should modified or repealed. This will be done as part of an examination of the regulatory rules that govern all of insurance industry?s products (annuities, auto, home owners? product liability, life insurance, etc). The course also takes a look at the insurance industry?s structure and financial performance and at the competitive interactions between the insurance, banking and securities industries. The impact on the industry of the financial crisis of 2008 and the resulting Dodd-Frank reform legislation will be reviewed.
• LAW BK 991: Commercial Lending
  This course studies the legal problems involved in documenting various types of financing transactions ranging from short-term unsecured loans which are based on the borrower's general credit to long-term, asset-based financings in which the lender does not have recourse to the borrower's general assets. The documentation process is followed from the preparation of the initial term sheet through the rendering of legal opinions at closing. The major aspects of a loan agreement, specifically representations and warranties, lending provisions, closing conditions, pricing, covenants, and defaults, are studied in detail in an effort to insure that each student understands the mechanics of a financing transaction. The special legal problems involved in inventory and receivables financing, project financing, construction credits, and leasing transactions are highlighted. Subordination agreements, participation agreements, and other inter-creditor arrangements are discussed. The provisions of the Bank Holding Company Act that relate to financing transactions, bank legal lending limits, margin requirements, and usury are considered. A discussion format is employed to the extent feasible, and problems and illustrations are used to focus and encourage class participation. The grade is based on a final examination, class participation and a brief analytical paper.
• LAW BK 995: Consumer Financial Services
  This class presents an overview of the laws relating to traditional and innovative consumer financial products and services, including the impact of the new consumer protection provisions of the Dodd-Frank banking law on creditors and consumers. The course focuses on federal consumer financial laws governing installment, revolving, and real estate lending, credit and debit cards; and ATM networks, point of sale payment systems, home banking, stored value and prepaid cards; and other deposit and loan products and services. The course examines the design of retail financial products and considers operational issues, the regulatory framework, and consumer protection laws including The Consumer Financial Protection Act, Truth in Lending, Equal Credit Opportunity, Community Reinvestment Acts, and federal and state laws governing fair credit reporting, trade practices, usury, electronic funds transfers, and funds availability.
• LAW JD 606: Legislation
  Examines the lawmaking process in legislatures, theories and rules of statutory interpretation in the courts, and the relationships among statutory law, administrative law, common law, and constitutional law.
• LAW JD 711: Judicial Writing (S)
  Designed for students who would like to clerk upon graduation or who have ambitions to sit on the bench, this class will focus on documents that law clerks and judges are called upon to draft, including bench briefs and appellate and trial court decisions. Students will complete multiple drafts of these documents, meet individually with the instructor to discuss the drafts, and engage in peer editing of their classmates' papers. Students will work with a single fact pattern throughout the semester, and will conduct extensive research as part of the course. In class, students will discuss the role of judges and their opinions in the legal systems, as well as the relationship between a judge and law clerk. The class will also include in-class writing exercises designed to improve the students' writing skills. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 14 students. NOTE: This class satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 712: Legal Writing for Civil Litigation (S)
  This class is designed to give students a variety of legal writing experiences, all related to civil litigation. Students will draft a variety of documents, including discovery-related documents, pleadings, and motions. Students will complete multiple drafts of these documents, meet individually with the instructor to discuss the drafts, and engage in peer editing of their classmates' papers. Students will work with a single fact pattern throughout the semester, and will conduct extensive research as part of the course. In class, students will discuss litigation strategy, research skills and ethical and professional concerns. In addition, the class will also include in-class writing exercises designed to improve the students' writing skills. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 14 students. NOTE: This class satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 713: Labor Arbitration Practice (S)
  Labor Arbitration Practice is a 3-credit simulation-based course that examines labor arbitration and has three distinct parts. Part I will explore the historical and legal development of labor arbitration and its relationship to collective bargaining. Part II will address common issues in arbitration, including evidence, discipline and discharge, and contract interpretation. Class materials will include mini-simulation exercises in which some students will formulate arguments on behalf of each of management and labor union, and act as arbitrators and make rulings. Part Ill will consist of three simulated arbitration hearings. In different simulations, each student will take on each of the roles of union counsel, management counsel, and arbitrator. Students will write post-hearing briefs and arbitrators will write awards (10 pages each). Students are expected to attend all class sessions and to take an active part in discussions of assigned materials as well as the mini-simulation exercises. Student grades will be based on a combination of the three simulation cases (75% total) and class participation (25%). Grades for the simulations will take into account writing and preparation/effort. NOTE; This class satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 714: Employment Law Practice (S)
  Employment Law Practice is a 2-credit seminar that will focus on various practical issues/aspects of employment law, including employment applications, handbooks and policies, and agreements. We will also address practice issues such as interviewing, counseling, and negotiating in the employment law context. Enrollment is limited to 12 students who must also be taking, or have previously taken, Employment Law. Grades will be based on a final project relating to the negotiation of an employment agreement and will involve pre- and post-negotiation memos to the client (70%) and class participation (30%). NOTE: This class satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 715: Constitutional History: The Founding Years (S)
  This course will investigate constitutional history from the years leading to the American Revolution through the War of 1812. We will explore legal and constitutional change from several different angles, including presidential leadership, legislative mandates, and judicial interpretation. We will also consider popular constitutionalism and how society at large debated and helped to shape constitutional interpretation and the founding of the Republic. Topics to be covered will include constitutional thought before and during the Revolution, the constitutional impact of the break with Britain, the origins and drafting of the Constitution, the political thought of various Founders, the development of judicial review, and launching the Republic during the Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison administrations. Prior background in American history is not required. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.**
• LAW JD 716: Real World Contracts
  "Real World Contracts" is an experimental course based on a new book by Zarfes & Bloom, "Contracts: A Transactional Approach" (Wolters Kluwer 2011). The book collects actual contracts from significant business transactions with notes on relevant legal issues and commentary from lawyers and business people. Assuming you have a business deal being negotiated by competent lawyers on both sides, the problem is not (as it often is in Law School Contracts), "how do we make an enforceable agreement, or enforce one if we have it?" We already know how to do those things. Instead, the focus is on standard lawyers' techniques for addressing selected business problems that a written agreement can potentially resolve. This is not a class on contract drafting or simulated negotiations. (We might possibly work in some minor drafting exercises, if time permits and it seems worthwhile.) Mostly we will be reading actual contracts, together with associated case law, statutes, and commentary, to answer the question, "What are these people trying to accomplish, and how are they going about it, and why are they doing it that way?"
• LAW JD 717: Health Law Research
  Health law encompasses the engagement of the legal system with a large and dynamic segment of the U.S. economy. Students will learn to navigate the statutory and regulatory framework of health law, including research with case law, legislative history materials, and adjudications and guidance documents from federal health agencies. Students will become familiar with practice materials and premium databases beyond Lexis and Westlaw. Classes will combine instruction and hands-on exercises using major print, electronic, and web-based resources for health law research. Students will be required to complete several assignments using electronic and print resources. NOTE: Students may not add this course after the first class has been held. This course meets January 23, 2012 through February 21, 2012.
• LAW JD 718: Banking and Financial Law Research
  Banking law has been at the epicenter of recent economic events and major reforms have been passed by Congress and now need to be implemented. Learn how to find laws and regulations, use specialized practice materials and search for agency issuances, among other research tasks. Lawyers practicing banking law often use licensed products other than LexisNexis and Westlaw in their offices. Students will become familiar with these products in this class. Classes will combine instruction and hands-on exercises using major print, electronic, and web based resources for banking law research. Students will be required to complete an assignment for every class using electronic and print resources. NOTE: Students may not add this course after the first class has been held. This course meets October 20, 2011 through November 17, 2011.
• LAW JD 725: Political Responsibility: A Duty to Obey and a Duty to Disobey (S)
  Theorists disagree about the morality of conduct under morally indefensible laws. The officially approved idea (often defended by theorists) is, of course, that each person is morally required to obey all of her society's laws, just and unjust alike (= the duty to obey, aka political obligation). Many theorists concede that civil disobedience may sometimes be morally justifiable (= political obligation is not "absolute"). Political activists such as Thoreau, Gandhi and King maintain that we are morally required to disobey unjust laws. That possibility has not been much discussed by theorists, though some have rejected the contrary idea of political obligation. This seminar will critically consider arguments for and against each of those moral claims. Seminar members will take turns initiating seminar discussion of the readings. A 4,000 word term paper will be required. Topics must be proposed and approved. A complete and polished draft will be submitted, and will be revised in light of comments received on the draft. Note that this seminar is cross listed in Philosophy and is open to a limited number of non law students. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 726: Health Care Fraud and Abuse (S)
  This seminar will use a practical, case-study approach to some of the issues arising in the complex world of health care enforcement and compliance. With emphasis on the Anti-Kickback Act and the False Claims Act, the seminar will explore how prosecutors, defense attorneys, whistleblowers, and compliance officials inside health care companies approach their work and advise their clients. The seminar will explore the relationships between regulated industries (e.g., pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, doctors, medical device companies) and government insurance programs (e.g., Medicaid and Medicare), why these relationships generate billions of dollars every year in fraud, and how the interested constituencies are approaching these issues. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 727: Law and the Lobby
  Lobbying is fundamental to our participatory democracy. The courts have steadfastly upheld the right to lobby based on the First Amendment. Lobbying efforts have led to numerous societal gains from cleaner air to safer cars. Lobbyists also play a vital role in helping members of the government understand complex issues. However, lobbying has a dark side. Throughout our country's history there have been scandals where money was used to unethically and unlawfully gain influence. Efforts to regulate lobbying have followed each major outrage yet they continue. This class will explore the legal, business and public policy aspects of lobbying. The course begins with history of lobbying focused on its legal foundation, regulation and resulting litigation. Next the business of lobbying is explored including the size, structure, strategy and economics of the industry. Finally we consider the impact of recent events on the future of lobbying - What has been the fallout from the Abramoff scandal? What is the impact of the Citizens United decision? What is the impact of the internet on lobbying, especially for non-profits? The reading materials include legislation, legal cases and business cases, collated by the instructors. Students will be required to write one 15 page paper at the end of the course.
• LAW JD 728: Government Lawyering Externship/Fieldwork (C)
  The Government Lawyering Externship is a one-semester clinical program. Students are required to apply and be accepted to the program before they may register. Accepted students must register for the ungraded fieldwork component and the graded seminar. Through the Government Lawyering Externship Program (GLEP), students work at a state or federal agency. Upon acceptance to the Government Lawyering Externship Program program, the Office of Clinical Programs works with students to identify suitable field placements depending on each student's individual interests and career goals. The range of opportunities in the government is extensive and there are great options out there for every student. COREQUISITE: Government Lawyering Seminar (JD 729) NOTE: This clinic satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement.
• LAW JD 729: Government Lawyering Externship/Seminar
  The Government Lawyering Externship is a one-semester clinical program. Students are required to apply and be accepted to the program before they may register. Accepted students register for the ungraded fieldwork component and this graded seminar. The two hour weekly seminar will explore topics including determining who the "client" is for purposes of the attorney-client relationship, the interaction with other government agencies, ethical and moral considerations unique to government attorneys, and the impact of politics on the work of a government lawyer. Students will write weekly journals about their externship experience and will also write a final research paper. COREQUISITE: Government Lawyering Externship: Fieldwork (JD 728)
• LAW JD 730: Challenging Government Misconduct in the Immigration Context (S) (formerly Civil Rights of Non-Citizens in the Immigration Process)
  This seminar will examine the civil rights of noncitizens in the immigration process and the use of motions to suppress evidence, habeas corpus, mandamus, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Federal Tort Claims Act and other federal actions or complaints to challenge the violation of these rights in the current environment of increased immigration enforcement. Students will focus on actions challenging the legality of interrogation, arrest, detention, and delayed petitions for status as well as the limitations on judicial review of agency action in the immigration context. The final grade will be based on writing requirements, for which students will have the opportunity to work on real cases. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
• LAW JD 731: Critical Race Theory (S)
  This seminar explores the utility of Critical Race Theory to the study of law. Specifically, this seminar analyzes the centrality of the law in constructing and maintaining -- as well as dismantling -- racism, racial inequalities, and race itself. The latter part of the seminar will consist of a sustained analysis of Critical Race Theory as it speaks to issues of gender and reproduction. Students will write a research paper; with the permission of the instructor, this paper may satisfy the upperclass writing requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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