Class Schedule

Law made by administrative agencies dominates the modern legal system and modern legal practice. This course examines the legal and practical foundations of the modern administrative state. Topics include rationales for delegation to administrative agencies; the legal framework (both constitutional and statutory) that governs agency decision-making; the proper role of agencies in interpreting statutory and regulatory law; and judicial review of agency action. The course will cover these topics through a comparative analysis of administrative processes in five federal agencies—the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Labor Relations Board, the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Communications Commission.  A combination of cases and discussion problems will be used to examine legal issues such as the separation of powers doctrine; the constitutional law of due process; health, safety, and environmental policy; the provision of government benefits; and market regulation. The central theme of the course is how administrative law balances “rule of law” values (procedural regularity, substantive limits on arbitrary action) against the often-competing values of political accountability, democratic participation, and effective administrative governance.

A study of how government regulates citizens and business in Texas, including an analysis of the powers and procedures common to state agencies in Texas. Special focus is given to the power of agencies to regulate by the adoption of rules and the holding of due process hearings (including contested case hearings under the Texas Administrative Procedure Act). Further, the course will look at judicial review by the courts over agency actions and "open government" laws relating to governmental actions and records.

Anything that happens on or near a body of navigable water is liable to call forth the admiralty jurisdiction of the federal courts and the application of the federal maritime law. The practice of admiralty and maritime law is somewhat specialized--admiralty lawyers still like to call themselves "proctors"--but any lawyer who practices in a port city (on an ocean, river, or lake) or who handles international transactions of any sort is likely to run into admiralty problems. (Yes, there is a lot of admiralty in Baton Rouge, plenty of it in Cincinnati, and probably still a little bit in Ogallala.) England had a specialized admiralty practice, and our Constitution set up admiralty and maritime law as a separate subject in this country by explicitly vesting the federal courts with full (but not exclusive) power over "all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction."  Understanding admiralty and maritime law accordingly entails some historical inquiries as well as a significant re-education in aspects of constitutional law affecting the division of power between the national and state governments. But the focus of the course is predominantly modern law, and the course materials consist in major part of recent judicial decisions and oft-litigated statutes.

This course delves into issues presented by injuries to maritime workers (including the Jones Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act); injuries to ship passengers and recreational boaters; carriage of goods under private contracts of carriage (charterparties) and under bills of lading (including the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act); collisions between vessels; marine insurance; and forum shopping in maritime cases. The emphasis is on the present-day problems of maritime lawyers and judges as reflected in current litigation. The name "admiralty" may conjure up images of antiquity, but the practice and study of maritime law is a thoroughly modern matter. There are no prerequisites.

A course focusing on real-life cases and key strategic decisions made immediately before and during trial to position you for success. Nationally renowned trial master, David Beck, will demonstrate, share secrets and teach strategy.  This is an advanced course. Texas Civil Procedure and Advocacy classes are recommended prior courses.

This class has a mandatory evening skills component (Monday or Wednesday evening). Students must register for both the lecture (376M) and either Monday or Wednesday evening skills portion (176N) of the class. Please note, the evening Skills portion of the class will not begin until week 5 or 6 of the semester and will run for eight weeks. Advocacy survey is designed for beginning advocacy students who are interested in gaining exposure to all areas of advocacy. While focusing primarily on trial skills, the course will also cover topics such as transactional practice, motion practice and alternative dispute resolution. By combining theory through the lecture sessions with technique training in skills sessions, students are able to practice what they learn. Students get hands-on practice in areas such as opening and closing statements, the use and relevance of technology in litigation, transferable skills for a transactional practice, and the basic skills necessary to try a case. The skill sessions will end with the trial of a case. Students will examine a case file from pretrial motions, transactional, ADR, arbitration, voir dire and trial. This is a 4-credit series (1 credit pass/fail, 3 credits graded).

Prerequisite or Concurrent: Evidence is strongly preferred.

Students get hands-on practice in areas such as opening and closing statements, the use and relevance of technology in litigation, transferable skills for a transactional practice, and the basic skills necessary to try a case. The skill sessions will end with the trial of a case.

Students get hands-on practice in areas such as opening and closing statements, the use and relevance of technology in litigation, transferable skills for a transactional practice, and the basic skills necessary to try a case. The skill sessions will end with the trial of a case.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (3 HOUR COURSE) The Alternative Dispute Resolution Survey course is designed to provide a broad-based introduction to negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, for students interested in either advocacy or transactional practices.  ADR methods are now more common than the courtroom for resolving civil disputes; more than 99% of civil cases are settled before trial, if cases are even filed at the courthouse. Many commercial agreements now contain mandatory mediation/arbitration provisions, and statutory and case law both favor ADR. This course will examine the policy and business reasons for the rise in ADR; explore the various ADR methods; discuss negotiating and why lawyers must learn successful negotiating skills; and provide students with an opportunity to experience these concepts through class exercises. The professor is a 30+year litigation attorney with substantial experience to both trial and ADR disputes, and she brings a practical, real-world approach to the lectures and exercises. There will be no exam, but a final written project is required. Grading will be based upon class participation, attendance, and the final paper. Please note: Students may only miss two classes per semester, additional absences will be reflected in a lower grade.

The course studies the development, interpretation, and application of the antitrust laws of the United States, specifically the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, FTC Act and other laws designed to protect consumers by ensuring competition in the marketplace. Specific topics include dominant firm behavior and exclusionary conduct, agreements among competitors, mergers, and vertical agreements (such as agreements between a supplier and a distributor). The course examines Supreme Court case law, recent and influential lower court decisions, and modern enforcement practice at the Federal Trade Commission and United States Department of Justice. Although basic economic concepts are integrated throughout the course, no background in economics is required or assumed. The class will begin with a brief primer on the most important economic concepts we will use in the course in order to make the course accessible to all interested students.

This three-hour course teaches advanced, judge-centered, Texas Supreme Court jurisprudence-driven appellate advocacy. Students represent an assigned party in a hypothetical case that progresses from final judgment in the trial court, through the court of appeals, to the Supreme Court of Texas. The class focuses on instilling the best possible judgment in the identification, development,  and presentation of winning legal arguments via brief writing and oral argument. Lectures teach specific oral and written advocacy techniques and principles, infused with perspectives of leading appellate practitioners and members of  the appellate judiciary, using real world examples. Students are graded on their application of these techniques and principles to the hypothetical case. Students must complete all assignments to receive credit. Major assignments include a brief in a Texas court of appeals, a petition for review in the Supreme Court of Texas, and multiple oral arguments. The course also touches on appellate procedure, ethics, mandamus practice, and the identification, development, and presentation of winning legal arguments in trial courts. The class meets once each week. There is no midterm and no final exam.

This course will analyze the origins of arbitration, its use in dispute resolution, and explore tactics for navigating arbitration.  It involves active class participation designed to mimic the arbitration process: drafting and negotiating arbitration clauses; selecting the arbitrator; presenting a claim; and will conclude with a mock arbitration. The teaching goal is to prepare students for drafting clauses for arbitration, engaging in arbitration, and evaluating the decision to resolve disputes through arbitration from the perspective of practicing attorneys and arbitrators.

This course is for students who want to practice bankruptcy - and for those who simply want a fun, challenging course that covers a key legal system underlying the U.S. and global economies. It covers Title 11 of the U.S. Code, the Bankruptcy Code. The course includes both consumer and business bankruptcy and a modest introduction to state law collection issues. Students learn the basic concepts of "straight" bankruptcy liquidation (Chapter 7), in which a trustee is appointed to sell the debtor's assets and pay the proceeds to the creditors. For consumers, that topic includes the fresh start--the discharge of all pre-existing debt--and the identification of exempt assets. Students also study the rehabilitation provisions, under which the debtor attempts to pay all or some part of the pre- bankruptcy debt: Chapter 13 payout plans for consumers and Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings for businesses. Principal attention is given to the substance of the bankruptcy laws, including the "avoiding powers" (for example, preferences and fraudulent conveyances), treatment of secured creditors (including the automatic stay against repossession or foreclosure), and priorities in asset distribution. More than half of the course is devoted to business reorganizations in Chapter 11, including the legal requirements for confirmation of a plan of reorganization and "cramdown" of recalcitrant creditors. Questions of jurisdiction and procedure are introduced, but are not the major focus of the course. The course attempts to give balanced attention to the practice realities of negotiation and leverage within a complex of doctrinal rules and to the social and economic consequences of the bankruptcy system in both its consumer and commercial manifestations. Grading will be primarily based on the exam but there is a class-participation component. Prerequisite: none.

An introduction to the legal rules and principles, as well as some of the economic factors, that pattern the conduct of productive enterprise in the U.S. The principal focus will be upon the large, publicly traded corporation that dominates much of the U.S. business environment - in particular, its financing, its control, and the potentially conflicting interests that the firm must mediate. Legal topics to be covered accordingly include shareholder and executive compensation, basic fiduciary obligations, shareholder voting rights, derivative suits, corporate reorganization and control transactions. We shall also devote some attention to partnerships, closely held corporations and other business forms. No prior background in business law or economics is assumed. Corporations and Business Association, Business Associations, and Business Associations (Enriched) may not be repeated for credit.

This is an enriched, five-unit version of the basic introductory and survey course in the corporations/business organizations area; there are no prerequisites whatsoever. This course considers issues relating to the selection of business form (e.g., partnership, limited partnership, corporation, and limited liability partnership), as well as the formation, financing, operation, and control of business organizations. Primary emphasis is placed on conducting business in the corporate form. The course examines corporate governance and other matters associated with both closely held corporations and publicly held corporations. Corporate governance stems from the interplay of market forces and the legal landscape; the latter stems in part from a mix of common law principles, state and federal statutes, and Securities and Exchange Commission rules, and shareholder litigation. Certain litigation, market, regulatory, and transactional issues covered in this Business Associations (Enriched) course are not covered in either Business Associations or Corporations. This course also has a greater focus on publicly-held corporations and modern corporate and financial developments. This enriched course does NOT require any prior business-related undergraduate coursework or any work experience in business-related matters. Corporations and Business Association, Business Associations, and Business Associations (Enriched) may not be repeated for credit.

This course is an introduction to the basic legal rules governing corporations. The course will focus on publicly held corporations. Among the topics covered will be fiduciary duties, conflict-of-interest transactions, executive compensation, reorganizations and control transactions, shareholder voting rights, and shareholder derivative suits. Issues relating to partnerships and securities law may also be reviewed. A student may not receive credit for both Business Associations for LLMs and Business Associations or Business Associations (Enriched) or Corporations.

This course will examine some general jurisprudential and moral issues related to the American system of capital punishment. The course will focus primarily on the development of the law governing capital punishment in the United States since 1970. Some of the main themes include: the legal structure of the Supreme Court's post-1970 death penalty jurisprudence, the scope of available appellate and post-conviction review in capital cases (particularly federal habeas review), the ubiquitous problems surrounding the representation afforded indigent capital defendants, proportionality limits on the imposition of the death penalty for various offenders (e.g., juveniles and persons with mental retardation), the role of racial discrimination in the administration of the death penalty, and the likely trajectory of the American death penalty. The course will be graded on a letter-grade basis for all students.  This course will satisfy the constitutional law II requirement.

Introduction to the civil adjudicative process, primarily that of the federal courts, including jurisdiction, pleading, dispositive motions, discovery, and trial procedure.

Introduction to the civil adjudicative process, primarily that of the federal courts, including jurisdiction, pleading, dispositive motions, discovery, and trial procedure.

Introduction to the civil adjudicative process, primarily that of the federal courts, including jurisdiction, pleading, dispositive motions, discovery, and trial procedure.

Introduction to the civil adjudicative process, primarily that of the federal courts, including jurisdiction, pleading, dispositive motions, discovery, and trial procedure.

ACTUAL INNOCENCE CLINIC IS A 6-HR. CLINIC. Students screen and investigate claims by inmates that they are actually innocent of the offenses for which they are incarcerated. While investigating cases, students typically interview witnesses, research cases, review trial transcripts, and occasionally visit inmates in prison. The weekly clinic class addresses topics relevant to actual innocence law and procedure.

APPLY ONLINE: https://law.utexas.edu/clinics/application-information/

This clinic provides students with the opportunity to assist in the representation of indigent criminal defendants charged with or convicted of capital offenses. Students work under the supervision of attorneys on death penalty cases at the trial, appellate, and post-conviction stages of the legal process. Students perform various tasks that are integral to death penalty representation, including visiting clients on death row; interviewing witnesses and conducting field investigations; drafting motions, appellate briefs, and habeas petitions; and assisting attorneys in the preparation for trials, evidentiary hearings, and appellate arguments.

Clinic students are expected to devote an average of 10 hours of work per week to their clinical responsibilities during the semester, though the workload in any given week will vary, depending on the needs of the case to which the student is assigned. Investigative work on some cases may require out-of-town travel. The Clinic meets once a week as a class (two hours) for training and practical skills sessions related to death penalty representation. Attendance at these sessions is mandatory.

As a prerequisite to enrolling in the Clinic, students are required to take concurrently, or to have taken previously, the Capital Punishment course (Law 278R / 378R). First-semester second-year students are welcome to enroll in both the Clinic and the Capital Punishment course, which takes as its subject the substantive and procedural law governing death penalty trials and appeals. A background in Texas and federal constitutional criminal procedure is also extremely helpful, but not required, to enroll in the Clinic. Grading is pass/fail. There is no paper or examination.

To enroll, Students must fill out a short application.