Course Schedule
Classes Found
Water Law and Policy for the Twenty-First Century
- TUE, THU 1:05 – 2:20 pm TNH 3.127
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 391F
- Cross-listed with:
- Other school
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Chaotic and upending droughts, floods, and hurricanes of historic proportions; groundwater depletions and surface water losses; algal blooms and other toxic drinking water threats; dam and other infrastructural failures; and an accelerating cascade of other devastating events have cast a glaring spotlight on the fragmented structure of state-based, region-based, and federal water rules and regulations and the fractured publicly- and privately-motivated ideals they represent. In the crowded public forum that is resulting from the practical consequences, the concerns and fears, and the notoriety of all of this, stakeholder groups vie to maintain existing rights and the expectations they have nourished. Other groups, including those that have been historically dispossessed of water rights, press for institutional, legal, and, in broad instances, justice-driven normative change.
In this course, we will study these layers of tumult in reference to the law as it has come to be, with attention to its historic taproots; its policy-based underpinnings, puzzles, and rationales; and its possible futures, as they are being contested over now. Our modes of inquiry will include traditional legal analysis; institutional, physical (e.g., infrastructure failure), and policy analysis, with an emphasis on problem- and solutions-identification; the substance of current debates; expert guest participation; and the creative and enlivening interactions that our multi-disciplinary student membership invites.
A major design feature will involve “deep dives” into hot topics of important public concern. These openings to conflicts in-the-round mean to underline the fact that, while some class members are preparing to specialize in water-specific careers, all of us need to prepare through reflective engagement and a shared basis in knowledge for endemic kinds of water stress in whatever place we live, as these are our times. Water wisdom for long-term stewardship is our aim, as this role will belong to everyone, wherever we live and on the planet we call home.
Students may be assembled into multi-disciplinary or single-discipline class discussion teams (or both). Everyone will write a very brief paper on a course-related topic of her or his own and a final research paper on an instructor-approved topic. Both are subject to graduate-level writing standards; no bots allowed. There will be no exams in the course.
Water Law and Policy for the Twenty-First Century
- MON, WED 11:50 am – 1:05 pm TNH 3.127
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 391F
- Cross-listed with:
- Other school
Registration Information
- 1L and upperclass elective
- Prof. keeps own waitlist
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Same as LAW 376L, Water Law and Policy for the Twenty-First Century.
Water is essential to the existence of all living things on this, our “blue” planet, including, of course, us. As the planet is seventy percent water, so, it happens, are we. As the character in a 2011 novel put this, “We exist only as a film on the water.” If that suggests itself as a fragile state of affairs, that’s because, increasingly, it is.
The earth’s hydrological cycle—regulator of the freshwater/saltwater balance that sustains our bodies, our food networks, our geographic placements—is increasingly perturbed, a function of the ongoing disturbance of the planet’s natural systems under conditions to which our society, all societies, must quickly learn to adapt. We are in the process of inventing a new existential curriculum, one based on the need to live with careful attention to a myriad of challenging, earth-system-dependent details.
What might “adaptation” mean—what can it mean? what should it mean?-- for one of the most stabilizing traditions on which we depend—law; its symbiotic policy matrix; its case-law-based jurisprudence of private conflict resolution, relied on for fostering incremental, small-bore movement by design? The crises engendered by climate change and the stabilizing, slow-moving features that characterize our legal tradition do not easily converge.
Emergent issues and questions fall heavily—uneasily—on water law, one of the oldest branches of American law, embossed with the early norms and rules of soggy England; its later developments tentacular and disjunctive, dependent on regions; states; a late-arriving, compromised federal presence; and on property law, rooted in notions and conflicts about land.
Five further matters of note:
(1) Our approach to each unit of material will be solidly planted in the legal tradition and relevant policy, including their rationales, and norms. Only after an introduction to foundational knowledge of each major component of the system in place may we reasonably engage in exploration, evaluation, and critique-- and we will, as we go along.
(2) The approach and materials will be inter-disciplinary and include basic hydrology/hydrogeology; climate science; (a possible smidge of) engineering; policy analysis; political governance; climate ethics and environmental ethics (environmental justice). Our forms of engagement: mostly reading; writing; some guests; some film, including videos made by you.
(3) We may treat Texas water law and policy as a kind of learning lab. We’ll occasionally look to developments outside the U.S.
(4) Units will be covered through lecture and collaborative as well as individual student enterprise. I mean to foster collaborative engagement.
(5) The course and student evaluation will depend on reading, discussion, writing, and, as to the final paper, research. There will be no exam.
Water Law and Policy for the Twenty-First Century
- TUE, THU 2:40 – 3:57 pm ONLINE
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 376L
- Cross-listed with:
- Other school
Registration Information
- 1L and upperclass elective
- Prof. keeps own waitlist
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.
My extended description of this Spring’s Water Law and Policy course, below, is intended to respond to the principal questions: What is this policy-intensive, stewardship-motivated water law course geared to offer? And: What will students be expected to do if they take the course? In other words: What am I planning to provide and what will I expect class members to provide?
There is a third matter I mean to highlight. It goes to how the class should unfold online. As to this, please note that I’m in the planning phase for this course; I’ve not yet taught online, having been on research leave; and it would be very instructive for me to learn at this time from students who register for this course what factors have shaped their (your) best and worst experiences in learning online both last Spring and now and what recommendations you’d like to share based on these experiences. (Note: I’m not looking for instructors’ names, just your takeaways regarding online pedagogy.) How to provide this information is this: At the end of the description that follows, I’ve provided an optional questionnaire. It includes invitations for you to provide recommendations for how online classes such as this one can best be run. I also ask about your background as it may prove relevant to the course so I can try to scope out modes of collaboration that would allow you to share information and perspectives derived from coursework, field of study, or experiences you have had. The online setting might make such participatory collaborations easier or more difficult than they are in in-person classes. I want to try to figure that out ahead of time and plan as much as I can for a good and valuable classroom experience online that includes robust participation from members of the class. My planning process would be greatly aided by your help, so I hope you’ll send back the quick questionnaire to contribute your thoughts, for which advance thanks, here!
**
This course is founded on the observation that water is essential to every living organism on our planet. It is collected, together with other significant elements of the global commons, under the term “natural resources” and is managed by means of the full panoply of techniques that law, policy, and social practice, generated by an immense array of governance regimes, yield. Through these interventions, people living inside political bounds regulate the allocation and quality of water—including potable water-- that is received by individuals and groups all over the world, utilizing such primary tools as ownership, use, access, and control. These same institutional and social mechanisms shape human impositions on the hydrological cycle, nature’s central schema for regulating the stocks and flows of water, including rivers, lakes, forests, soil water, groundwater, and artificial impoundments all over the globe.
The essentiality condition and the relative scarcity of accessible freshwater should infuse these efforts with a kind of reverence that finds expression in ethical stewardship, guided by such principles as conservation; restoration; coherence; concern for biodiversity; and social equity and justice, anchored to the meta-principle of shared obligation within regimes of rights. Instead, the trans-historical, trans-national convention has been to treat water as a cheap or even free commodity—except in the case of bottled water!—responsive to the nearly unbridled demands of the agricultural sector, with the remaining sectoral interests dividing and often competing over the rest. This longstanding subservience of ethical regard has encouraged the consistent over-consumption and degradation of water, leaving much of the global population to deal with accelerating problems in water depletion and quality decline, even as the hazards of droughts, floods, and other manifestations of the changing climate increase, promising to make these problems worse. Additionally, limitations on clean water at affordable cost in communities around the world is a limiting factor on the maintenance of public health in the face of the pandemic, when frequent hand-washing is considered a crucial factor in reducing the spread of the virus. In some regions and settings—even within the U.S.--this problem is a present danger.
Pundits are wont to predict that conflicts, including some that will threaten national security, will arise. Some already have.
The existing situation, which has come to tolerate massive vulnerabilities, is unsustainable, no less in our country than anywhere else. Fidelity to ethical principle within the dominant economic and social sectors and across the relevant professional fields; regulatory reforms attentive to legitimate social concerns; new emergency management policies connected to the public health and welfare; scientific advancement toward the wiser management of stocks and flows; social adherence to better practical approaches; inter-disciplinary collaborations that foster innovation within this sphere; improved popular understandings and information flows; responsible regard for risk; public finance shaped by sophisticated institutional design: All of these efforts—and more-- are on. We will attempt to observe at least a sampling of them and, in some instances, to aid the search for new and best practices involving subjects such as these in our course. Your op-ed contributions and research papers can be centered within these topics, if you want.
We will need a strong foundation of knowledge to render this work valuable. Thus, I invite students of law, community planning, engineering, hydrogeology and allied fields, and public policy to engage in a study of the federal and state regimes of law, policy, and accepted social practice that regulate the ownership, use, access, and control of water across the United States. We must analyze and reflect carefully on the is to engage in sensible, considered judgments about the ought.
Note One: Some curricular details:
(1) This year, I plan to balance the traditional emphasis on water allocation doctrine with a greater concentration than usual on issues involving water quality.
(2) We’ll treat Texas as a kind of living laboratory for the investigation of some subjects within the course.
(3) Beyond our needed grounding in legal texts, I’ll include an eclectic assortment of materials from other fields, with the aim of introducing the kind of inter-disciplinary literacy that reflects the needs of today.
(4) I’m considering the creation of a special unit on water and the Covid emergency.
(5) There is likely to be some participation by guest experts and, possibly, a film.
(6) These added components comprise two hours of guaranteed out-of-class meetings, thus reducing the scheduled timeline to 77-minute lectures instead of the standard 81-minute requirement for Spring 2021.
Note Two: Grading Components:
There is no final examination in this course. A variety of self-directed experiences in learning, including collaborative ones, form its graded components, instead. These experiences will include a written op-ed (opinion-editorial) on a self-selected topic relevant to the course; a research paper that may be jointly-authored on a self-selected topic—this time, with instructor approval required based on relevance to the course and viability; reasonable class attendance and participation—likely, for the baseline version, in panels, with designated dates-- that demonstrates preparation based on the course materials assigned for that date’s class; collaboration with classmates; and the production and presentation of a very short video on the subject of your research. (Don’t worry if you’ve never made a video before. We’ve got excellent instructions and my faculty assistant is a practiced hand at advising in regard to this.) Depending on the state of the pandemic, there may be one self-guided, possibly optional, activity. (In past years, this activity has involved a “discovery project” at a local store. This year, it could be that or a mindful walk.)
Descriptions and instructions as to the elements listed above will be distributed to class registrants before the first class day. I’ll also distribute information about my non-office-based meeting times for the term, which might include socially-distanced in-person meetings out of doors.
Note Three: Early Input By You:
Please see the very brief optional questionnaire. A second thanks if, as soon as proves convenient, you fill it out and send it back.
White Collar Defense and Investigations
- MON 9:50 – 11:40 am TNH 3.127
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 296W
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Taught by Sara Clark.
This course is intended to provide a practical introduction to the practice of what is commonly referred to as “white collar” crime—an area of criminal defense primarily focused on government investigations of corporations and individuals for non-violent criminal offenses, often of a regulatory or financial nature.
The course will focus on themes and issues commonly encountered in representing clients in these complex and often lengthy investigations, and will walk students through the typical phases of a corporate criminal investigation, up to and including resolution. Recognizing the increasing ability of law enforcement authorities to cooperate beyond national boundaries, the course will also provide an introduction to common issues and themes in cross-border investigations.
Textbook: White Collar Crime in a Nutshell (6th Edition)Ellen S. Podgor | Jerold H. Israel | Miriam H. Baer | Gregory M. GilchristISBN: 9781647082864
White Collar Defense and Investigations
- MON 9:50 – 11:40 am JON 5.257
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 296W
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Taught by Sara Clark.
This course is intended to provide a practical introduction to the practice of what is commonly referred to as “white collar” crime—an area of criminal defense primarily focused on government investigations of corporations and individuals for non-violent criminal offenses, often of a regulatory or financial nature.
The course will focus on themes and issues commonly encountered in representing clients in these complex and often lengthy investigations, and will walk students through the typical phases of a corporate criminal investigation, up to and including resolution. Recognizing the increasing ability of law enforcement authorities to cooperate beyond national boundaries, the course will also provide an introduction to common issues and themes in cross-border investigations.
Textbook: White Collar Crime in a Nutshell (6th Edition)Ellen S. Podgor | Jerold H. Israel | Miriam H. Baer | Gregory M. GilchristISBN: 9781647082864
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED, THU 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 2.123
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED, THU 9:05 – 10:12 am TNH 2.123
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, TUE, WED 9:05 – 10:12 am TNH 3.142
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Wills and Estates focuses on donative transfers of property. Included are community property, intestate succession, the execution and revocation of wills, frequently recurring drafting problems, the use of trusts, fiduciary administration, future interests, the rule against perpetuities, powers of appointment, estate and gift taxation, and basic estate planning. The course emphasizes Texas law, but it also examines the law of many other jurisdictions, as well as numerous Uniform Acts.
This is a four credit course. There are no prerequisites.
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED, THU 9:05 – 10:12 am TNH 2.138
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED, THU 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 2.138
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, TUE, WED 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 2.123
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Wills and Estates focuses on donative transfers of property. Included are community property, intestate succession, the execution and revocation of wills, frequently recurring drafting problems, the use of trusts, fiduciary administration, future interests, the rule against perpetuities, powers of appointment, estate and gift taxation, and basic estate planning. The course emphasizes Texas law, but it also examines the law of many other jurisdictions, as well as numerous Uniform Acts.
This is a four credit course. There are no prerequisites.
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 3.140
- THU 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 3.142
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED, THU 9:10 – 10:17 am TNH 3.140
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED, THU 9:10 – 10:17 am TNH 2.123
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED, THU 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 2.123
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, TUE, WED 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 2.123
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Wills and Estates focuses on donative transfers of property. Included are community property, intestate succession, the execution and revocation of wills, frequently recurring drafting problems, the use of trusts, fiduciary administration, future interests, the rule against perpetuities, powers of appointment, estate and gift taxation, and basic estate planning. The course emphasizes Texas law, but it also examines the law of many other jurisdictions, as well as numerous Uniform Acts.
This is a four credit course. There are no prerequisites.
Wills and Estates
- MON, TUE, WED 10:35 – 11:47 am ONLINE
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.
This is a four credit course. Wills and Estates focuses on donative transfers of property. Included are community property, intestate succession, the execution and revocation of wills, frequently recurring drafting problems, the use of trusts, fiduciary administration, future interests, the rule against perpetuities, powers of appointment, estate and gift taxation, and basic estate planning. The course emphasizes Texas law; indeed, one of the required texts includes the Texas Estates Code. The course also examines the law of many other jurisdictions, as well as numerous Uniform Acts. Prerequisites: None.
- MON, WED, THU 10:35 – 11:42 am TNH 3.142
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will not use floating mean GPA
Description
The 28315 section of this course will be taught in person but with the option of occasional remote participation via Zoom. If students require all remote participation, they must register for the 28324 section of this course, which is identical but web-based.
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
- MON, WED, THU 9:00 – 10:07 am TNH 3.142
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will not use floating mean GPA
Description
The 28320 section of this course will be taught in person but with the option of occasional remote participation via Zoom. If students require all remote participation, they must register for the 28321 section of this course, which is identical but web-based.
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, TUE, WED 9:10 – 10:17 am TNH 2.124
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
Description
This is a four credit course. Wills and Estates focuses on donative transfers of property. Included are community property, intestate succession, the execution and revocation of wills, frequently recurring drafting problems, the use of trusts, fiduciary administration, future interests, the rule against perpetuities, powers of appointment, estate and gift taxation, and basic estate planning. The course emphasizes Texas law; indeed, one of the required texts includes the entire Texas Estates Code. However, the course also examines the law of many other jurisdictions, as well as numerous Uniform Acts. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED, THU 9:10 – 10:17 am TNH 2.140
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will not use floating mean GPA
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wills and Estates
- MON, WED, THU 10:30 – 11:37 am TNH 2.140
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 489N
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will not use floating mean GPA
Description
This course deals with donative transfers of property, including intestate succession, probate administration of decedents’ estates, execution and revocation of wills, the use of trusts in estate planning, and rules of construction that affect will and trust drafting. The course also will cover community property laws and basic estate tax and gift tax principles. Relevant Texas Estates Code and Uniform Probate Code statutes will be included in a Supplement to the casebook. Prerequisites: None.
Wind and Solar Law
- MON 3:55 – 5:45 pm TNH 3.124
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 296W
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This two-credit course will survey the most prominent current legal issues affecting the wind and solar industry. Taught by two practicing attorneys (with a combined 50 years of experience in the electric power, wind and solar industries), the course will explore the history of wind and solar energy, the fundamentals of developing a wind or solar project, the major elements of wind and solar leases and other real property issues, government tax incentives, litigation, interconnection and transmission issues, permitting, the impact of renewable energy development on the environment and wildlife, acquisitions and sales of wind and solar projects, and project finance. We will also learn about other technologies such as energy storage and waste-to-energy. Many of our class meetings will feature prominent guest speakers who work in and provide counsel to the renewable energy and electric utility industries. Grading is based on a combination of a paper and presentation on a topic of the student's choosing, a transactional assignment, a case presentation, and class participation.
Wind and Solar Law
- MON 3:45 – 5:35 pm TNH 3.127
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 296W
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This two-credit course will survey the most prominent current legal issues affecting the wind and solar industry. Taught by two practicing attorneys (with a combined 50 years of experience in the electric power, wind and solar industries), the course will explore the history of wind and solar energy, the fundamentals of developing a wind or solar project, the major elements of wind and solar leases and other real property issues, government tax incentives, litigation, interconnection and transmission issues, permitting, the impact of renewable energy development on the environment and wildlife, acquisitions and sales of wind and solar projects, and project finance. We will also learn about other technologies such as energy storage and waste-to-energy. Many of our class meetings will feature prominent guest speakers who work in and provide counsel to the renewable energy and electric utility industries. Grading is based on a combination of a paper and presentation on a topic of the student's choosing, a transactional assignment, a case presentation, and class participation.