Course Schedule

This course provides students with a foundational understanding of Latin American legal traditions. It is designed for those who may encounter Latin American law in their professional paths as lawyers, international civil servants, business executives, or diplomats, among others. For too long, the dominant perception from north of the Rio Grande has been that Latin American legal institutions are, if not wholly irrelevant, at least extremely weak. Such conventional wisdom often fails to distinguish among countries and overlooks significant recent developments in many of them. The course pursues three objectives: (1) to provide future U.S.-based practitioners with a realistic, historically and politically informed perspective on Latin American legal systems; (2) to offer future Latin American practitioners a comparative framework through which to view their own legal systems; and (3) to give any interested student a solid grounding in contemporary legal developments in the region. Rather than attempting to cover every substantive legal area, the course introduces the overarching approaches and defining characteristics of Latin American law. Students will be introduced to civil law regimes, recognizing that common law education alone is insufficient to grasp the complexities of Latin American legal systems. This perspective is particularly relevant given the challenges faced by many American corporations and investors when navigating domestic legal risks without expert counsel. The course also emphasizes the importance of effective communication with Latin American peers. To achieve these goals, topics will include the civil law tradition in Latin America, constitutional law, human rights, civil and commercial codes, remedies in civil law, criminal law, civil and criminal procedure, and business law. The course will use Oquendo, Latin American Law, 3d ed. (Foundation Press 2017), complemented by additional reading materials.

This course introduces you how to use economic reasoning to analyze legal issues. The course will focus on the common law areas of property, contracts, and tort as well as the legal process and criminal law. Economic analysis of law analyzes legal rules with one main question in mind: how will people and firms respond to a given legal rule? That is, rather than look at the inherent "fairness" or "justness" of a legal rule, law and economics focuses on the incentives that a legal rule creates. The normative aspect of law and economics then asks how legal rules should be structured to create the most desirable incentives.

This course introduces you how to use economic reasoning to analyze legal issues. The course will focus on the common law areas of property, contracts, and tort as well as the legal process and criminal law. Economic analysis of law analyzes legal rules with one main question in mind: how will people and firms respond to a given legal rule? That is, rather than look at the inherent "fairness" or "justness" of a legal rule, law and economics focuses on the incentives that a legal rule creates. The normative aspect of law and economics then asks how legal rules should be structured to create the most desirable incentives.

This course introduces you how to use economic reasoning to analyze legal issues. The course will focus on the common law areas of property, contracts, and tort as well as the legal process and criminal law. Economic analysis of law analyzes legal rules with one main question in mind: how will people and firms respond to a given legal rule? That is, rather than look at the inherent "fairness" or "justness" of a legal rule, law and economics focuses on the incentives that a legal rule creates. The normative aspect of law and economics then asks how legal rules should be structured to create the most desirable incentives.

This course introduces you how to use economic reasoning to analyze legal issues. The course will focus on the common law areas of property, contracts, and tort as well as the legal process and criminal law. Economic analysis of law analyzes legal rules with one main question in mind: how will people and firms respond to a given legal rule? That is, rather than look at the inherent "fairness" or "justness" of a legal rule, law and economics focuses on the incentives that a legal rule creates. The normative aspect of law and economics then asks how legal rules should be structured to create the most desirable incentives.

This course introduces you how to use economic reasoning to analyze legal issues. The course will focus on the common law areas of property, contracts, and tort as well as the legal process and criminal law. Economic analysis of law analyzes legal rules with one main question in mind: how will people and firms respond to a given legal rule? That is, rather than look at the inherent "fairness" or "justness" of a legal rule, law and economics focuses on the incentives that a legal rule creates. The normative aspect of law and economics then asks how legal rules should be structured to create the most desirable incentives.

Explore intermediaries in the capital markets. Examine institutional workings of the securities business and its legal regulation including recent developments and interesting economic problems.

This course focuses on intermediaries in the capital markets -- those who trade, facilitate structure, or manage securities investments.  Modern capital markets are dynamic and innovative, as creative and highly paid bankers, investment managers, and their lawyers attempt to navigate an ever-changing economic and regulatory environment.  Students will gain an understanding of the institutional workings of the securities business and its legal regulation, with an eye toward recent developments and interesting economic problems. Topics include:

·         Pre-IPO trading, IPO underwriting, SPACs, and other IPO alternatives;

·         Investment companies, investment advisers, and broker dealers.

·         Efficient markets theory and implications for investment advising;

·         Structure and marketing of asset-backed securities, such as CDOs; 

·         Banking, shadow banking, and the demand for safe assets;

·         Banking competitors, such as crypto/stablecoins and money market mutual funds;

·         Market making, payment for order flow, and “gamification” of retail trading.

The course utilizes a case study approach, with examples drawn from (relatively) recent events, which include Facebook’s pre-IPO trading, Tether, the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, Goldman’s ABACUS trade, the Lehman collapse, Robin Hood, and GameStop.

Evaluation is based on class discussion/participation and student group presentations.

This course is aimed at students who are planning to work as investment bankers, investment managers, broker/dealers, or legal advisors thereto, and the goal of this course is to equip students with an overview of the economic concerns that drive much capital markets activity and the consequent legal regulation that attempts to improve capital markets operation.  This course is intended to be an accessible survey for all business and law students; no prior knowledge of economics, securities markets, or law is assumed.

This course focuses on intermediaries in the capital markets -- those who trade, facilitate structure, or manage securities investments.  Modern capital markets are dynamic and innovative, as creative and highly paid bankers, investment managers, and their lawyers attempt to navigate an ever-changing economic and regulatory environment.  Students will gain an understanding of the institutional workings of the securities business and its legal regulation, with an eye toward recent developments and interesting economic problems. Topics include:

·         Pre-IPO trading, IPO underwriting, SPACs, and other IPO alternatives;

·         Investment companies, investment advisers, and broker dealers.

·         Efficient markets theory and implications for investment advising;

·         Structure and marketing of asset-backed securities, such as CDOs; 

·         Banking, shadow banking, and the demand for safe assets;

·         Banking competitors, such as crypto/stablecoins and money market mutual funds;

·         Market making, payment for order flow, and “gamification” of retail trading.

The course utilizes a case study approach, with examples drawn from (relatively) recent events, which include Facebook’s pre-IPO trading, Tether, the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, Goldman’s ABACUS trade, the Lehman collapse, Robin Hood, and GameStop.

Evaluation is based on class discussion/participation and student group presentations.

This course is aimed at students who are planning to work as investment bankers, investment managers, broker/dealers, or legal advisors thereto, and the goal of this course is to equip students with an overview of the economic concerns that drive much capital markets activity and the consequent legal regulation that attempts to improve capital markets operation.  This course is intended to be an accessible survey for all business and law students; no prior knowledge of economics, securities markets, or law is assumed.

This course focuses on intermediaries in the capital markets -- those who trade, facilitate structure, or manage securities investments.  Modern capital markets are dynamic and innovative, as creative and highly paid bankers, investment managers, and their lawyers attempt to navigate an ever-changing economic and regulatory environment.  Students will gain an understanding of the institutional workings of the securities business and its legal regulation, with an eye toward recent developments and interesting economic problems. Topics include:

·         Pre-IPO trading, IPO underwriting, SPACs, and other IPO alternatives;

·         Investment companies, investment advisers, and broker dealers.

·         Efficient markets theory and implications for investment advising;

·         Structure and marketing of asset-backed securities, such as CDOs; 

·         Banking, shadow banking, and the demand for safe assets;

·         Banking competitors, such as crypto/stablecoins and money market mutual funds;

·         Market making, payment for order flow, and “gamification” of retail trading.

The course utilizes a case study approach, with examples drawn from (relatively) recent events, which include Facebook’s pre-IPO trading, Tether, the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, Goldman’s ABACUS trade, the Lehman collapse, Robin Hood, and GameStop.

Evaluation is based on class discussion/participation and student group presentations.

This course is aimed at students who are planning to work as investment bankers, investment managers, broker/dealers, or legal advisors thereto, and the goal of this course is to equip students with an overview of the economic concerns that drive much capital markets activity and the consequent legal regulation that attempts to improve capital markets operation.  This course is intended to be an accessible survey for all business and law students; no prior knowledge of economics, securities markets, or law is assumed.

This course uses economic analysis to understand the institutional workings of the securities and investment business and its legal regulation (especially recent developments therein). The main focus of this course is on securities intermediaries -- those who trade, facilitate trade, or manage investments on account of others -- as opposed to primary offerings (which are covered in a typical Securities Regulation class). Topics include securities trading and market regulation, banking and shadow banking, securitizations and asset-backed securities, broker-dealer duties and conflicts, and investment advisers and investment company regulation. The course utilizes a case study approach, with examples drawn from recent events. The class will be a combination of lecture, class discussion, and student group presentations. The goal of the course is to ensure that students have a good economic understanding of how and why the law applies to them once they are (or are representing) investment bankers, traders, or investment advisers.

The materials for this one-hour pass-fail course are still being worked out.  What is most likely is that each week will focus, for the two-hour class period, on one or, at most, two, stories or a short novel that raise issues relevant to the law.  For example, under what circumstances do we properlyaccept private revenge, because, for example, a working legal system that provides adequate "justice" is lacking?  Does Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" offer any useful lessons about "the rule of law" and/or "fidelity to law"?   We might also assign some legal opinions or essays that are thought to be of particular literary merit and analyze what that may (or may not) be true.  Each student will be required to provide three short essays (of roughly 500-600) words responding to the pieces assigned during particular weeks of your choice.  They will be ungraded, but we hope that they will provide the agenda for much of the class discussion for those weeks.

The materials for this one-hour pass-fail course are still being worked out.  What is most likely is that each week will focus, for the two-hour class period, on one or, at most, two, stories or a short novel that raise issues relevant to the law.  For example, under what circumstances do we properlyaccept private revenge, because, for example, a working legal system that provides adequate "justice" is lacking?  Does Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" offer any useful lessons about "the rule of law" and/or "fidelity to law"?   We might also assign some legal opinions or essays that are thought to be of particular literary merit and analyze what that may (or may not) be true.  Each student will be required to provide three short essays (of roughly 500-600) words responding to the pieces assigned during particular weeks of your choice.  They will be ungraded, but we hope that they will provide the agenda for much of the class discussion for those weeks.

The legal framework of commercial real estate finance and development, including basic real estate law concepts, legal aspects of financing techniques and instruments, subdivision land-use controls, environmental regulation of real estate development, and other topics.

The legal framework of commercial real estate finance and development, including basic real estate law concepts, legal aspects of financing techniques and instruments, subdivision land-use controls, environmental regulation of real estate development, and other topics.

The legal framework of commercial real estate finance and development, including basic real estate law concepts, legal aspects of financing techniques and instruments, subdivision land-use controls, environmental regulation of real estate development, and other topics.

A survey of a range of core legal practice areas, including copyright, trademark, insurance, employment, immigration, contracts (with artists, sponsors, vendors and others), and working with municipalities using the backdrop of a live festival event. Expect guest lecturers from within the industry. 

A survey of a range of core legal practice areas, including copyright, trademark, insurance, employment, immigration, contracts (with artists, sponsors, vendors and others), and working with municipalities using the backdrop of a live festival event. Expect guest lecturers from within the industry. 

A survey of a range of core legal practice areas, including copyright, trademark, insurance, employment, immigration, contracts (with artists, sponsors, vendors and others), and working with municipalities using the backdrop of a live festival event. Expect guest lecturers from within the industry.

A survey of a range of core legal practice areas, including copyright, trademark, insurance, employment, immigration, contracts (with artists, sponsors, vendors and others), and working with municipalities using the backdrop of a live festival event. Expect guest lecturers from within the industry.

A survey of a range of core legal practice areas, including copyright, trademark, insurance, employment, immigration, contracts (with artists, sponsors, vendors and others), and working with municipalities using the backdrop of a live festival event. Expect guest lecturers from within the industry. 

A survey of a range of core legal practice areas, including copyright, trademark, insurance, employment, immigration, contracts (with artists, sponsors, vendors and others), and working with municipalities using the backdrop of a live festival event. Expect guest lecturers from within the industry. 

Stretching from Texas to California, the U.S.-Mexico border brings together diverse cultural experiences and identities, along with a unique set of legal issues.  This course will provide students with an opportunity to examine these issues from a historical perspective. 

We will begin with the role of conquest – beginning with the Spanish conquest of indigenous peoples, and the subsequent annexation and conquest of the border territories by the United States.

We will then turn to the impact of nationality, national origin, class, ethnicity, race and language on the law affecting border communities, focusing on developments in U.S. immigration, labor and civil rights law, as well as the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.    

The course will end with an examination of major controversies currently affecting the border region, including the militarization of the border zone; the construction of a border “wall;” and the treatment of undocumented immigrants and their children. 

There are no prerequisites.  Each student will prepare and present weekly reaction papers, along with an independent research project.