Course Schedule
Classes Found
U.S. Constitutional Law for Foreign Lawyers
- TUE, THU 6:25 – 7:15 pm ONLINE
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 279M
Registration Information
- LLM degree course only
- Will not use floating mean GPA
Description
This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.
U.S. Constitutional Law for Foreign Lawyers
- TUE, THU 1:15 – 2:05 pm TNH 2.138
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 279M
Registration Information
- LLM degree course only
Description
No description text available.U.S. Environmental Law
- MON, WED 2:30 – 3:45 pm TNH 3.124
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 391E-4
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course surveys environmental law in the United States from its roots in the common law, to the explosion of legislation and regulation that emerged in the 1970's, and through to regulatory efforts to address climate change today. Beyond giving students a solid foundation in navigating the major laws that govern protection of the environment and public health, the course will introduce students to the regulatory state. We will examine the ways in which courts, Congress, and agencies sometimes work together and sometimes act at cross purposes in developing and implementing environmental policies. The course will also consider the disparate perspectives that inform environmental programs--ethical values, economics, and science--and how conflicts between them can lead to surprising compromises in statutory and regulatory outcomes. The course surveys four major pollution statutes, with a particular emphasis on laws regulating air and water pollution and the laws governing the commercial use and remediation of hazardous substances. The course casebook incorporates regular discussion problems and will be supplemented by four required quizzes scheduled during the semester. Students completing this course will be well-positioned to take one or more advanced environmental law courses; although, it is not a prerequisite for enrollment in any of them.
U.S. Environmental Law
- MON, TUE 2:30 – 3:45 pm JON 5.206
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 391E-4
- Cross-listed with:
- Other school
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course surveys environmental law in the United States from its roots in the common law, to the explosion of legislation and regulation that emerged in the 1970's, and through to regulatory efforts to address climate change today. Beyond giving students a solid foundation in navigating the major laws that govern protection of the environment and public health, the course will introduce students to the regulatory state. We will examine the ways in which courts, Congress, and agencies sometimes work together and sometimes act at cross purposes in developing and implementing environmental policies. The course will also consider the disparate perspectives that inform environmental programs--ethical values, economics, and science--and how conflicts between them can lead to surprising compromises in statutory and regulatory outcomes. The course surveys four major pollution statutes, with a particular emphasis on laws regulating air and water pollution and the laws governing the commercial use and remediation of hazardous substances. The course casebook incorporates regular discussion problems and will be supplemented by four required quizzes scheduled during the semester. Students completing this course will be well-positioned to take one or more advanced environmental law courses; although, it is not a prerequisite for enrollment in any of them.
U.S. Environmental Law
- MON, WED 2:15 – 3:30 pm JON 6.207
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 391E-4
Registration Information
- 1L and upperclass elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course surveys environmental law in the United States from its roots in the common law to the explosion of legislation and regulation that emerged in the 1970's and continues through the present. Beyond gaining basic competence in navigating the major laws that govern environment and public health protection, the course will introduce students to the regulatory state. We will examine the ways in which courts, Congress, and agencies sometimes work together and sometimes act at cross purposes in developing and implementing regulatory programs. The course will also consider the disparate inputs that inform environmental programs--values, economics, and science--and how conflicts over these inputs can lead to surprising compromises in statutory and regulatory outcomes. The course will survey six major statutes, with particular emphasis on laws regulating air and water pollution and the laws protecting endangered species and public resources. The course will incorporate several case studies (e.g., climate change regulation, habitat conservation planning, market-based regulatory regimes) as a complement to the topics addressed in the casebook. Students completing the Survey course will be well-positioned to take one or more advanced environmental law courses, although the Survey course is not a prerequisite for enrollment in any of them. Students who have already taken an advanced or an analogous survey course in environmental law may not enroll in this introductory Survey course.
U.S. Environmental Law
- TUE, THU 9:00 – 10:15 am ONLINE
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 341L
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.
This course surveys environmental law in the United States from its roots in the common law to the explosion of legislation and regulation that emerged in the 1970's and continues through the present. Beyond gaining basic competence in navigating the major laws that govern environment and public health protection, the course will introduce students to the regulatory state. We will examine the ways in which courts, Congress, and agencies sometimes work together and sometimes act at cross purposes in developing and implementing regulatory programs. The course will also consider the disparate inputs that inform environmental programs--values, economics, and science--and how conflicts over these inputs can lead to surprising compromises in statutory and regulatory outcomes. The course will survey six major statutes, with particular emphasis on laws regulating air and water pollution and the laws protecting endangered species and public resources. The course will incorporate several case studies (e.g., climate change regulation, habitat conservation planning, market-based regulatory regimes) as a complement to the topics addressed in the casebook. Students completing the Survey course will be well-positioned to take one or more advanced environmental law courses, although the Survey course is not a prerequisite for enrollment in any of them. Students who have already taken an advanced or an analogous survey course in environmental law may not enroll in this introductory Survey course.
U.S. Environmental Law
- TUE, THU 9:05 – 10:20 am JON 6.207/208
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 341L
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course surveys environmental law in the United States from its roots in the common law to the explosion of legislation and regulation that emerged in the 1970's and continues through the present. Beyond gaining basic competence in navigating the major laws that govern environment and public health protection, the course will introduce students to the regulatory state. We will examine the ways in which courts, Congress, and agencies sometimes work together and sometimes act at cross purposes in developing and implementing regulatory programs. The course will also consider the disparate inputs that inform environmental programs--values, economics, and science--and how conflicts over these inputs can lead to surprising compromises in statutory and regulatory outcomes. The course will survey six major statutes, with particular emphasis on laws regulating air and water pollution and the laws protecting endangered species and public resources. The course will incorporate several case studies (e.g., climate change regulation, habitat conservation planning, market-based regulatory regimes) as a complement to the topics addressed in the casebook. Students completing the Survey course will be well-positioned to take one or more advanced environmental law courses, although the Survey course is not a prerequisite for enrollment in any of them. Students who have already taken an advanced or an analogous survey course in environmental law may not enroll in this introductory Survey course.
U.S. Law, an Introduction
- MON, WED 2:30 – 3:45 pm JON 5.206
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 395R
Registration Information
- LLM degree course only
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course introduces international LL.M. students to the concepts of law fundamental to, and the legal institutions operating within, the United States legal system. Designed as a comprehensive overview, the course will cover key aspects of the U.S. legal system, including the U.S. Constitution and the functions and procedures of civil and criminal courts, and introduce key concepts and principles of the law of contracts, torts, and property in the United States.
Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on comparing and contrasting U.S. legal principles with those of students' home jurisdictions, facilitating a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences between legal systems. Guest speakers, case studies, and practical exercises will complement traditional lectures, providing students with a comprehensive and practical foundation in U.S. law.
This fall course is required for LL.M. students with a foreign law degree, although those with a law degree from a common law country may request a waiver. Exchange students may petition to enroll in the class on a space available basis.
U.S. Law, an Introduction
- WED 3:55 – 5:45 pm TNH 3.127
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 295R
Registration Information
- LLM degree course only
- Prof. keeps own waitlist
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course introduces international LL.M. students to the concepts of law fundamental to, and the legal institutions operating within, the United States legal system. The course will include an overview of the U.S. Constitution and of the functions and procedures of civil and criminal courts. This fall course is required for LL.M. students with a foreign law degree, although those with a law degree from a common law country may request a waiver. Exchange students may petition to enroll in the class on a space available basis.
U.S. Law, an Introduction
- TUE 8:10 – 10:00 am TNH 3.140
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 243C
Registration Information
- LLM degree course only
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course introduces international LL.M. students to the concepts of law fundamental to, and the legal institutions operating within, the United States legal system. The course will include an overview of the U.S. Constitution and of the functions and procedures of civil and criminal courts. This fall course is required for LL.M. students with a foreign law degree, although those with a law degree from a common law country may request a waiver. Exchange students may petition to enroll in the class on a space available basis.
U.S. Supreme Court History
- FRI 1:05 – 4:25 pm TNH 2.137
- SAT 9:00 am – 12:15 pm TNH 2.137
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 196V
- Short course:
- 1/16/24 — 2/24/24
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
Description
This course will have required readings prior to the first in-class meeting. The only days this course will meet in person are: Friday, February 16, Saturday, February 17, Friday, February 23, and Saturday, February 24.
This short course will take a tour of the U.S. Supreme Court’s institutional history from its earliest days—back when Supreme Court Justices had to travel the countryside to hold trials and were required by law to stay in public lodgings—up to the present, where Justices exercise enormous and momentous power. Over four sessions, we will explore how the Court has evolved over 230 years from a small and weak institution into one of the dominant forces in American law and society. We will focus on topics including the following, in each instance tracing the development from the Court’s early history to its modern incarnation:
- the obligations of a Supreme Court Justice and the annual cycle of the Court’s work;
- how ordinary Americans have seen or interacted with the Court throughout its history;
- how the Court has handled (or mishandled) politicized moments;
- the Justices with the greatest impact in transforming the Court into what it is today;
- the kinds of cases the Court takes, and why;
- how the Court conducts oral arguments;
- how the Court reaches its decisions internally and communicates them externally;
- how Presidents have chosen Justices, and how the Senate has responded;
- how Justices have interacted with their colleagues and their staff;
- how Justices have departed the bench;and
- other related topics, including any that might be of special interest to the students in the class.
We will end the course with a look forward to the challenges yet to come. The instructors are both former U.S. Supreme Court clerks who both have argued cases before that Court and who both are currently serving judges, one on the Fifth Circuit and the other on the Texas Supreme Court. The chief learning objectives include developing a deeper appreciation for the Supreme Court’s history and the way the Court has influenced and been influenced by larger American society. Ultimately, this course aims to give future lawyers insight into how and why the Supreme Court functions the way that it does and to empower them to place the Court’s work product in greater historical context.
Understanding Conservative Legal Thought
- TUE 3:55 – 5:45 pm CCJ 3.306
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 196W
- Short course:
- 8/27/24 — 11/19/24
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Course meets every other week: August 27, September 10, September 24, October 8, October 22, November 5, and November 19.
With recent changes on the Supreme Court and in other parts of the judiciary, it is increasingly important for advocates to understand right-of-center legal thought. Effective legal argument today increasingly requires an understanding of textualism and originalism and the many forms those interpretative theories take. At the same time, new debates within the right have emerged over legal interpretation, individual rights, judicial power, and the role of the states. This seminar will give students a sampling of those debates, exposure to different conservative approaches, and skills for persuasive textualist and originalist advocacy. It will present a variety of perspectives and will encourage students to decide for themselves what views do (and do not) persuade them. The seminar will be heavily discussion-focused and largely student-led, with guest lecturers for some topics. Students of all ideologies, students with no ideology, and students who are still figuring it out are welcome.
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 393E
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Venture Capital
- MON, WED 2:15 – 3:30 pm TNH 3.142
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 393E
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Same as LAW 379M, Topic: Venture Capital.
This course will review core issues relating to venture capital. The focus of the course will be the financing of the emerging growth company. The course will cover topics relating to venture capital investments in start-up companies, the structure of VC backed companies, the allocation of cash-flow and control rights in these companies, and litigation arising from the unique VC arrangements. Issues relating to the VC fund structure and to intellectual property transactions may also be discussed. It is highly recommended to have completed “Business Associations” or “Business Associations (Enriched)” before taking this course.
Venture Capital
- TUE 3:45 – 5:35 pm TNH 3.142
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 279M
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
Description
This course will review core issues relating to venture capital. The focus of the course will be the financing of the emerging growth company. The course will cover topics relating to venture capital investments in start-up companies, the structure of VC backed companies, the allocation of cash-flow and control rights in these companies, and litigation arising from the unique VC arrangements. Issues relating to the VC fund structure and to intellectual property transactions may also be discussed.
Venture Transactions
- 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
Taught by Kevin Vela.
This class will prepare students to counsel early-stage companies and investors through a myriad of startup related transactions and situations. We will begin with a brief history of venture to understand the foundation of the practice, and then explore, in detail, aspects of structuring a venture backed company, raising capital, interacting with investors, and typical commercial agreements germane to a startup. Students will be expected to read, interpret, and draft common venture financing documents and identify and provide counsel on typical founder and early-stage company issues.
The final grade will have four parts: class attendance (10%), two drafting exercises (each 25%), and a final exam (40%). The final exam will be multiple choice/short answer based, similar to most legal issue spotting exams.
Wall Street Regulation
- MON 3:55 – 5:45 pm TNH 3.125
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 296W
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
A one-semester course which will cover selected, practical topics concerning Wall Street's regulatory, economic and political environment. We will focus on the nature of investment products, their use and the regulatory structure surrounding them. We will discuss how some misused these products and the impact that has had on the economy. Finally we will look at the government responses to the economy and the success/failure thereof. This class will pull handout materials from articles in major publications, real-time news stories and personal experience. Given the fluid nature of the economy, new information will likely become available during the course and provide timely discussion topics. Therefore, we may veer from the syllabus topics.
The teaching technique will not be a lecture style, but rather a highly participatory Socratic method in which case study, situation analysis and student interaction will be at the core. The instructor will provoke the students and encourage their thoughtful response to the problems and issues so presented. Each student will present on a topic of his/her choice, and the class will have the opportunity to develop their own skills in the areas of: team building, presentation skills, critical thinking, problem diagnosis and problem solving. Class participation and attendance will count towards the final grade. Quizzes may also count towards grading if given.
Students may not earn credit for both, Alt Invest: Lack of Reg/Bailout and Wall Street Regulation.
Wall Street Regulation
- TUE 3:55 – 6:25 pm TNH 2.138
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 396W
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
A one-semester course which will cover selected, practical topics concerning Wall Street's regulatory, economic and political environment. We will focus on the nature of investment products, their use and the regulatory structure surrounding them. We will discuss how some misused these products and the impact that has had on the economy. Finally we will look at the government responses to the economy and the success/failure thereof. This class will pull handout materials from articles in major publications, real-time news stories and personal experience. Given the fluid nature of the economy, new information will likely become available during the course and provide timely discussion topics. Therefore, we may veer from the syllabus topics.
The teaching technique will not be a lecture style, but rather a highly participatory Socratic method in which case study, situation analysis and student interaction will be at the core. The instructor will provoke the students and encourage their thoughtful response to the problems and issues so presented. Each student will present on a topic of his/her choice, and the class will have the opportunity to develop their own skills in the areas of: team building, presentation skills, critical thinking, problem diagnosis and problem solving. Class participation and attendance will count towards the final grade. Quizzes may also count towards grading if given.
Students may not earn credit for both, Alt Invest: Lack of Reg/Bailout and Wall Street Regulation.
Wall Street Regulation
- MON 3:45 – 6:15 pm TNH 2.138
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 396W
- Experiential learning credit:
- 3 hours
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
A one-semester course which will cover selected, practical topics concerning Wall Street's regulatory, economic and political environment. We will focus on the nature of investment products, their use and the regulatory structure surrounding them. We will discuss how some misused these products and the impact that has had on the economy. Finally we will look at the government responses to the economy and the success/failure thereof. This class will pull handout materials from articles in major publications, real-time news stories and personal experience. Given the fluid nature of the economy, new information will likely become available during the course and provide timely discussion topics. Therefore, we may veer from the syllabus topics.
The teaching technique will not be a lecture style, but rather a highly participatory Socratic method in which case study, situation analysis and student interaction will be at the core. The instructor will provoke the students and encourage their thoughtful response to the problems and issues so presented. Each student will present on a topic of his/her choice, and the class will have the opportunity to develop their own skills in the areas of: team building, presentation skills, critical thinking, problem diagnosis and problem solving. Class participation and attendance will count towards the final grade. Quizzes may also count towards grading if given.
Students may not earn credit for both, Alt Invest: Lack of Reg/Bailout and Wall Street Regulation.
Wall Street Regulation
- MON 3:45 – 6:15 pm TNH 2.138
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 396W
- Experiential learning credit:
- 3 hours
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will not use floating mean GPA
Description
Same as LAW 379M, Wall Street Regulation.
A one-semester course which will cover selected, practical topics concerning Wall Street's regulatory, economic and political environment. We will focus on the nature of investment products, their use and the regulatory structure surrounding them. We will discuss how some misused these products and the impact that has had on the economy. Finally we will look at the government responses to the economy and the success/failure thereof. This class will pull handout materials from articles in major publications, real-time news stories and personal experience. Given the fluid nature of the economy, new information will likely become available during the course and provide timely discussion topics. Therefore, we may veer from the syllabus topics.
The teaching technique will not be a lecture style, but rather a highly participatory Socratic method in which case study, situation analysis and student interaction will be at the core. The instructor will provoke the students and encourage their thoughtful response to the problems and issues so presented. Each student will present on a topic of his/her choice, and the class will have the opportunity to develop their own skills in the areas of: team building, presentation skills, critical thinking, problem diagnosis and problem solving. Class participation and attendance will count towards the final grade. Quizzes may also count towards grading if given.
Students may not earn credit for both, Alt Invest: Lack of Reg/Bailout and Wall Street Regulation.
Wall Street Regulation
- MON 4:15 – 6:45 pm ONLINE
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 379M
- Experiential learning credit:
- 3 hours
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.
A one-semester course which will cover selected, practical topics concerning Wall Street's regulatory, economic and political environmnet. We will focus on the nature of investment products, their use and the regulatory structure surrounding them. We will discuss how some misused these products and the impact that has had on the economy. Finally we will look at the government responses to the economy and the success/failure thereof. This class will pull handout materials from articles in major publications, real-time news stories and personal experience. Given the fluid nature of the economy, new information will likely become available during the course and provide timely discussion topics. Therefore, we may veer from the syllabus topics.
The teaching technique will not be a lecture style, but rather a highly participatory Socratic method in which case study, situation analysis and student interaction will be at the core. The instructor will provoke the students and encourage their thoughtful response to the problems and issues so presented. Each student will present on a topic of his/her choice, and the class will have the opportunity to develop their own skills in the areas of: team building, presentation skills, critical thinking, problem diagnosis and problem solving. Class participation and attendance will count towards the final grade. Quizzes may also count towards grading if given.
Students may not earn credit for both, Alt Invest: Lack of Reg/Bailout and Wall Street Regulation.
Wall Street Regulation
- MON 3:45 – 6:15 pm TNH 2.123
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 379M
- Experiential learning credit:
- 3 hours
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
A one-semester course which will cover selected, practical topics concerning Wall Street's regulatory, economic and political environmnet. We will focus on the nature of investment products, their use and the regulatory structure surrounding them. We will discuss how some misused these products and the impact that has had on the economy. Finally we will look at the government responses to the economy and the success/failure thereof. This class will pull handout materials from articles in major publications, real-time news stories and personal experience. Given the fluid nature of the economy, new information will likely become available during the course and provide timely discussion topics. Therefore, we may veer from the syllabus topics. The teaching technique will not be a lecture style, but rather a highly participatory Socratic method in which case study, situation analysis and student interaction will be at the core. The instructor will provoke the students and encourage their thoughtful response to the problems and issues so presented. Each student will present on a topic of his/her choice, and the class will have the opportunity to develop their own skills in the areas of: team building, presentation skills, critical thinking, problem diagnosis and problem solving. Class participation and attendance will count towards the final grade. Quizzes may also count towards grading if given.
Students may not earn credit for both, Alt Invest: Lack of Reg/Bailout and Wall Street Regulation.
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 391F
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Water Law
- TUE, THU 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
This survey course in U.S. water law and policy traces these subjects from their influential pre-colonial origins through their nineteenth century development into the very different allocational regimes of the Eastern and Western states—both, still standing-- to their twentieth century re-birth within a cooperative-federalist schema of water quality regulation to their current entanglement in a large complex of no-longer-duckable issues and problems-- a stew that is the legacy of ideas, norms, and practices that resisted change for too long. These issues and problems include the over-exploitation of water resources; climate-driven droughts and floods and their ties to impervious cover excesses and dams; the chemical infiltration of the public water supply; chronic underinvestment in infrastructure; and confrontations with matters of principle, including environmental justice and the human right to water, to name a few. The uneasy meld of water law’s past, present, and future, accounted for under the drivers of policy, principle, and politics, are what this course is about.
Some attention will be given to Texas water law and policy. This will include guest presentations by Texas experts from different fields.
Methods will include lecture; individual and team-led class participation; and some “deep dives” into matters of extended exploration. Class members will be encouraged to apply their diversity of disciplinary training and interests to the subjects at hand and to adopt a pet topic or theme for the term, if they wish. There will be one very brief paper-writing exercise and a final paper on an instructor-approved topic, both subject to graduate-school standards of review, in lieu of an exam.
Water Law
- MON, WED 11:50 am – 1:05 pm JON 5.206/207
Course Information
- Course ID:
- 376L
- Cross-listed with:
- Other school
Registration Information
- Upperclass-only elective
- Prof. keeps own waitlist
- Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Description
Water is essential to every form of life. It is also vast, in planetary terms; scarce, as to its freshwater component; increasingly expensive to render potable—that is, suitable for humans to ingest; and subject to both over-use and growing demand throughout the United States and worldwide. Its natural source of regulation, the hydrological cycle, is continually perturbed by human interventions, not the least of them accomplished by means of law and policy designed around pre-scientific assumptions about the resource. Many of these interventions are not proving well-suited to modern conditions that feature resource stress, supply and demand imbalance, social and economic cost, and injustice.
The twenty-first century is producing a grand reckoning with these inherited legal and social practices and habits of thought. In the U.S., much of the needed re-examination of law and policy is falling to the states, so these will be the focus of much of our work, though issues best approached through federal or foreign examples will received coverage, too. For select issues, Texas will serve as our living laboratory. The course materials will be inter-disciplinary, designed to bring these issues to life. *** There will be two very brief written assignments due during the term; a final, research-based paper; and evaluative attention to class preparation, contribution, and attendance. *** There is no prerequisite for this course.