Course Schedule

The 27760 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 27761 section of this course, which is identical but web-based.

Negotiation is one of the primary skills used by lawyers in the daily practice of law. This course is designed to help students develop and refine practical negotiation skills. More specifically, this course fosters understanding of the psychological dynamics of the negotiation process, evaluates methods of reaching agreements, and offers an opportunity for each student to receive evaluations of his or her own negotiating skills. Students engage in simulated negotiations concerning a common problem such as sale of real estate, settlement of a lawsuit, or a contract negotiation. Some of these negotiations will be videotaped and discussed in class by the instructor.

In addition to the once a week, three-hour class, exercises will occasionally be done between class sessions; hence, flexibility is an unavoidable requirement of being in this class. One exercise will be completed over a seven day period, and another will be completed over a ten day period. Therefore, IT IS REQUIRED THAT YOU BE IN AUSTIN THE WEEKENDS OF SEPTEMBER 12-13 and OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 1 to work with your negotiating partners to satisfy the requirements of the course.

ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED AT ALL CLASSES. There will be no final exam. Grades will be determined on the basis of performance in the negotiation exercises, written assignments, class participation, and improvement in negotiation skills. Only students who are willing to commit sufficient time to work on the negotiation problems should enroll for this course. ENROLLMENT IS LIMITED TO 16 STUDENTS.

BASED ON PRIOR HISTORY, ENROLLED STUDENTS MAY DROP THIS COURSE AFTER THE FIRST CLASS MEETING. INTERESTED STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO REGISTER FOR THE CLASS SHOULD EMAIL THE PROFESSOR TO GET ON THE WAITING LIST AND ALSO APPEAR AT THE FIRST CLASS. VACANT SLOTS WILL BE FILLED FROM THOSE IN ATTENDANCE BASED ON THE WAIT LIST. STUDENTS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO DROP THE CLASS AFTER THE BEGINNING OF THE FIRST CLASS.

This course will be taught in person, with no remote participation.

Much of what lawyers do on a day-to-day basis involves negotiation. This negotiations course will provide you with effective, negotiation skills that may benefit you throughout your legal career.  This is a “student-participation,” experiential learning course that blends law, social science, and ethics toward the development of practical negotiation skills in a small classroom environment.  Topics covered will include negotiation theory and literature regarding negotiation of both transactional-based and litigation-based problems. The class is structured to include both classroom presentation and classroom exercises that will be performed in small groups under the instruction of your professor.  You will leave this negotiations course with greater knowledge and understanding of dynamics involved in negotiations and provide you with the skillset to successfully navigate them.

This course will be taught in person, with no remote participation.

Much of what lawyers do on a day-to-day basis involves negotiation. This negotiations course will provide you with effective, negotiation skills that may benefit you throughout your legal career.  This is a “student-participation,” experiential learning course that blends law, social science, and ethics toward the development of practical negotiation skills in a small classroom environment.  Topics covered will include negotiation theory and literature regarding negotiation of both transactional-based and litigation-based problems. The class is structured to include both classroom presentation and classroom exercises that will be performed in small groups under the instruction of your professor.  You will leave this negotiations course with greater knowledge and understanding of dynamics involved in negotiations and provide you with the skillset to successfully navigate them.

The 27775 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 27776 section of this course, which is identical but web-based.

Instructor: Michael J. Schless (http://www.schlessadr.com/) Whether litigating civil or criminal cases, focusing on transactional work, or not even engaging in the practice of law per se, it is likely that the professional life of any law school graduate will include negotiating on a regular and frequent basis. An intuitive sense and engaging personality are examples of innate skills that can enhance a negotiator’s effectiveness and probably cannot be effectively taught. But basic negotiating skills can be taught and ought to be part of the law school curriculum and every law student’s experience. This course is intended to provide an introduction to negotiation theory and practice. We will discuss and practice negotiation structure, strategy, skills, styles, agreement writing, and ethics. We will also examine psychological, cultural, racial and gender influences on the negotiation process. This is a highly interactive course utilizing negotiating exercises between individual or pairs of students (some of which will be video recorded), based upon both hypothetical and actual case studies and reviewed in class, and class discussions in which everyone will be expected to actively participate. We will also invite experienced attorneys and other professionals to share their insights and demonstrate effective negotiating skills. The course is limited to sixteen students, and because we will meet as a full class only once a week, regular attendance is expected. There will be no exams. Grades will be determined by performance on the negotiating problems, agreement writing, journal entries, other writing exercises, and participation in class discussions.

The 27780 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 27781 section of this course, which is identical but web-based.

Instructor: Michael J. Schless (http://www.schlessadr.com/) Whether litigating civil or criminal cases, focusing on transactional work, or not even engaging in the practice of law per se, it is likely that the professional life of any law school graduate will include negotiating on a regular and frequent basis. An intuitive sense and engaging personality are examples of innate skills that can enhance a negotiator’s effectiveness and probably cannot be effectively taught. But basic negotiating skills can be taught and ought to be part of the law school curriculum and every law student’s experience. This course is intended to provide an introduction to negotiation theory and practice. We will discuss and practice negotiation structure, strategy, skills, styles, agreement writing, and ethics. We will also examine psychological, cultural, racial and gender influences on the negotiation process. This is a highly interactive course utilizing negotiating exercises between individual or pairs of students (some of which will be video recorded), based upon both hypothetical and actual case studies and reviewed in class, and class discussions in which everyone will be expected to actively participate. We will also invite experienced attorneys and other professionals to share their insights and demonstrate effective negotiating skills. The course is limited to sixteen students, and because we will meet as a full class only once a week, regular attendance is expected. There will be no exams. Grades will be determined by performance on the negotiating problems, agreement writing, journal entries, other writing exercises, and participation in class discussions.

In this course, students will learn the basics of legislative negotiation through case studies, simulations, and exercises. This interactive approach will be enriched and supported by the study of two textbooks: "Getting to Yes," which elaborates on various negotiation concepts, and "The Texas Legislative Handbook," providing students with practical knowledge of the Texas legislative process. Taught by Jorge Ramirez, the Chief of Staff to the Dean of the Texas Senate.

Lawyers and especially litigators are professional problem solvers. Negotiation is an integral part of crafting solutions. This class is a learn by doing experiential class helping students master the negotiation skills essential for a modern litigation practice. Expect an interdisciplinary approach to finding solutions, discovering your style, managing others, reaching resolution, and maintaining personal balance. 

Lawyers and especially litigators are professional problem solvers. Negotation is an integral part of crafting solutions. This class is a learn by doing experiential class helping students master the negotiation skills essential for a modern litigation practice. Expect an interdisciplinary approach to finding solutions, discovering your style, managing others, reaching resolution, and maintaining personal balance. 

Lawyers and especially litigators are professional problem solvers. Negotation is an integral part of crafting solutions. This class is a learn by doing experiential class helping students master the negotiation skills essential for a modern litigation practice. Expect an interdisciplinary approach to finding solutions, discovering your style, managing others, reaching resolution, and maintaining personal balance. 

My goal for each student taking this class is to teach you as much about the new venture creation process as possible. Regardless of the line of work you pursue after earning your master’s degree, your ability to approach a business problem using an entrepreneurial skill set will always be valuable and differentiate you from your peers. What frequently is the deciding factor for financing a venture, whether inside a large company or in the private equity markets, is the entrepreneur’s ability to articulate what the business is about, why it will succeed and ultimately how it will produce enough of a profit to give investors a return on their investment. Your ability to do this has very little to do with the actual writing of the business plan. The best business plans and presentations are the documentation of well thought-out and thorough market validation, business model development and financial projections passionately communicated and firmly grounded in facts. By performing these functions effectively, the writing and presenting of the business plan becomes a straight-forward, objective process. This class is designed to give you the hands-on experience of developing all of these skills while producing a viable plan for a new venture. I strongly encourage you to think of this as an opportunity to develop a business plan for a venture you will likely pursue at some point in your career. The format of this class will cover each of the major components you need to develop a viable business and review real business plans and presentations from previous Venture Labs Investment Competitions (formerly Moot Corp®) using case based analysis. This will give you the theory and the practical application of the theory in a real world environment. This course can only be taken for a grade.

My goal for each student taking this class is to teach you as much about the new venture creation process as possible. Regardless of the line of work you pursue after earning your master’s degree, your ability to approach a business problem using an entrepreneurial skill set will always be valuable and differentiate you from your peers. What frequently is the deciding factor for financing a venture, whether inside a large company or in the private equity markets, is the entrepreneur’s ability to articulate what the business is about, why it will succeed and ultimately how it will produce enough of a profit to give investors a return on their investment. Your ability to do this has very little to do with the actual writing of the business plan. The best business plans and presentations are the documentation of well thought-out and thorough market validation, business model development and financial projections passionately communicated and firmly grounded in facts. By performing these functions effectively, the writing and presenting of the business plan becomes a straight-forward, objective process. This class is designed to give you the hands-on experience of developing all of these skills while producing a viable plan for a new venture. I strongly encourage you to think of this as an opportunity to develop a business plan for a venture you will likely pursue at some point in your career. The format of this class will cover each of the major components you need to develop a viable business and review real business plans and presentations from previous Venture Labs Investment Competitions (formerly Moot Corp®) using case based analysis. This will give you the theory and the practical application of the theory in a real world environment. This course can only be taken for a grade.

My goal for each student taking this class is to teach you as much about the new venture creation process as possible. Regardless of the line of work you pursue after earning your master’s degree, your ability to approach a business problem using an entrepreneurial skill set will always be valuable and differentiate you from your peers. What frequently is the deciding factor for financing a venture, whether inside a large company or in the private equity markets, is the entrepreneur’s ability to articulate what the business is about, why it will succeed and ultimately how it will produce enough of a profit to give investors a return on their investment. Your ability to do this has very little to do with the actual writing of the business plan. The best business plans and presentations are the documentation of well thought-out and thorough market validation, business model development and financial projections passionately communicated and firmly grounded in facts. By performing these functions effectively, the writing and presenting of the business plan becomes a straight-forward, objective process. This class is designed to give you the hands-on experience of developing all of these skills while producing a viable plan for a new venture. I strongly encourage you to think of this as an opportunity to develop a business plan for a venture you will likely pursue at some point in your career. The format of this class will cover each of the major components you need to develop a viable business and review real business plans and presentations from previous Venture Labs Investment Competitions (formerly Moot Corp®) using case based analysis. This will give you the theory and the practical application of the theory in a real world environment. This course can only be taken for a grade.

My goal for each student taking this class is to teach you as much about the new venture creation process as possible. Regardless of the line of work you pursue after earning your master’s degree, your ability to approach a business problem using an entrepreneurial skill set will always be valuable and differentiate you from your peers. What frequently is the deciding factor for financing a venture, whether inside a large company or in the private equity markets, is the entrepreneur’s ability to articulate what the business is about, why it will succeed and ultimately how it will produce enough of a profit to give investors a return on their investment. Your ability to do this has very little to do with the actual writing of the business plan. The best business plans and presentations are the documentation of well thought-out and thorough market validation, business model development and financial projections passionately communicated and firmly grounded in facts. By performing these functions effectively, the writing and presenting of the business plan becomes a straight-forward, objective process. This class is designed to give you the hands-on experience of developing all of these skills while producing a viable plan for a new venture. I strongly encourage you to think of this as an opportunity to develop a business plan for a venture you will likely pursue at some point in your career. The format of this class will cover each of the major components you need to develop a viable business and review real business plans and presentations from previous Venture Labs Investment Competitions (formerly Moot Corp®) using case based analysis. This will give you the theory and the practical application of the theory in a real world environment. This course can only be taken for a grade.

This is a Business School course, cross-listed with the Law School. This course will be taught in person. Contact the professor for details.

My goal for each student taking this class is to teach you as much about the new venture creation process as possible. Regardless of the line of work you pursue after earning your master’s degree, your ability to approach a business problem using an entrepreneurial skill set will always be valuable and differentiate you from your peers. What frequently is the deciding factor for financing a venture, whether inside a large company or in the private equity markets, is the entrepreneur’s ability to articulate what the business is about, why it will succeed and ultimately how it will produce enough of a profit to give investors a return on their investment. Your ability to do this has very little to do with the actual writing of the business plan. The best business plans and presentations are the documentation of well thought-out and thorough market validation, business model development and financial projections passionately communicated and firmly grounded in facts. By performing these functions effectively, the writing and presenting of the business plan becomes a straight-forward, objective process. This class is designed to give you the hands-on experience of developing all of these skills while producing a viable plan for a new venture. I strongly encourage you to think of this as an opportunity to develop a business plan for a venture you will likely pursue at some point in your career. The format of this class will cover each of the major components you need to develop a viable business and review real business plans and presentations from previous Venture Labs Investment Competitions (formerly Moot Corp®) using case based analysis. This will give you the theory and the practical application of the theory in a real world environment. This course can only be taken for a grade.

Taught as a web-based course. Course meets June 4 - July 8.

The nonprofit sector is a crucial and complex sector of our economy and society. This course provides an overview of the state and federal legal framework for nonprofit organizations, with a focus on the state and federal rules governing the formation and operation of nonprofits operating as 501(c) (3) public charities. Topics will include choice of entity for a nonprofit enterprise, the fiduciary duties of nonprofit directors, obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status, private inurement and private benefit, nonprofit earned income strategies, including social enterprise, and nonprofit lobbying and political activities.

To allow students to make practical applications of doctrine, this course will include some in-class small group work. Grading will be based on class participation and a final exam.

There are no pre-requisites for this course.

All course materials will be available through Canvas.

The course is primarily focused on domestic onshore oil and gas case law, viewed in part with a litigation focus, and including a study of common property interests created in oil and gas, with limited consideration of developing law on renewable energy and climate. The course includes an examination of fundamental state oil and gas law concepts including issues raised by modern horizontal drilling and fracturing; introduction to, and analysis of, the oil and gas lease with attention to its common structural components and the law that has developed around them; introduction to titles and conveyances in oil and gas; introduction to state regulation of oil and gas; discussion of selected oil and gas agreements that arise subsequent to the oil and gas lease; discussion of developing of state owned lands; and brief consideration of renewable energy, climate change litigation and federal environmental regulation. 

Evaluation of student performance will consist of a final examination (including essay questions or a combination of essay and short-answer questions) plus attendance and class participation credit.

Oil and Gas Law provides an overview of oil and gas law throughout the United States, with emphasis on Texas. Students will gain an understanding of basic oil and gas law principles, derived from a combination of property, contract, administrative, tort, and constitutional law. The course provides a unique opportunity to take a law course that cuts across several core law-school subjects and from the perspective of a particular business—the upstream oil and gas industry and affected landowners. Oil and gas is the world's most widely traded and strategically important commodity, from which important customs and practices have evolved to influence both contract provisions and law as well as governent regulation and policy.

The materials for the course are Lowe, Anderson, Kulander, Ehrman, and Griggs, Oil and Gas Law: Cases & Materials (8th ed. 2022), various forms used in oil and gas transactions and regulatory orders, and other supplemental materials. The course syllabus and supplemental materials will be available on Canvas; however, any supplemental cases can be found on Westlaw or Lexis.

Unless otherwise announced in the syllabus, a final examination will cover all subject areas discussed and assigned over the course of the semester, including assigned reading and supplemental classroom information. The format and the nature of the exam will be announced later but you should anticipate part multiple-choice questions and part essay. Your grade will be based on the final exam. However, credit may be given for high quality class participation to increase the final grade by one grade increment, e.g., from a final exam grade of B+ to a final course grade of A-. Conversely, if someone is consistently unprepared or absent, his or her final rade may be reduced by one grade increment, e.g., from a final exam grade of B to a final course grade B-.

The course is primarily focused on domestic onshore oil and gas law, including common property interests created in oil and gas, with limited consideration of developing law on renewable energy and climate. The course includes an examination of fundamental state oil and gas law concepts including issues raised by modern horizontal drilling and fracturing; introduction to, and analysis of, the oil and gas lease with attention to its common structural components and the law that has developed around them; introduction to titles and conveyances in oil and gas; introduction to state regulation of oil and gas; discussion of selected oil and gas agreements that arise subsequent to the oil and gas lease; discussion of developing of state owned lands; and brief consideration of renewable energy, climate change litigation and federal environmental regulation. 

Evaluation of student performance will consist of a final examination (including essay questions or a combination of essay and short-answer questions) plus attendance and class participation credit.

Oil and Gas Law provides an overview of oil and gas law throughout the United States, with emphasis on Texas. Students will gain an understanding of basic oil and gas law principles, derived from a combination of property, contract, administrative, tort, and constitutional law. The course provides a unique opportunity to take a law course that cuts across several core law-school subjects and from the perspective of a particular business—the upstream oil and gas industry and affected landowners. Oil and gas is the world's most widely traded and strategically important commodity, from which important customs and practices have evolved to influence both contract provisions and law as well as governent regulation and policy.

The materials for the course are Lowe, Anderson, Kulander, Ehrman, and Griggs, Oil and Gas Law: Cases & Materials (8th ed. 2022), various forms used in oil and gas transactions and regulatory orders, and other supplemental materials. The course syllabus and supplemental materials will be available on Canvas; however, any supplemental cases can be found on Westlaw or Lexis.

Unless otherwise announced in the syllabus, a final examination will cover all subject areas discussed and assigned over the course of the semester, including assigned reading and supplemental classroom information. The format and the nature of the exam will be announced later but you should anticipate part multiple-choice questions and part essay. Your grade will be based on the final exam. However, credit may be given for high quality class participation to increase the final grade by one grade increment, e.g., from a final exam grade of B+ to a final course grade of A-. Conversely, if someone is consistently unprepared or absent, his or her final rade may be reduced by one grade increment, e.g., from a final exam grade of B to a final course grade B-.

The course is focused on domestic onshore oil and gas law, including private property interests created in oil and gas. The course includes an examination of fundamental state oil and gas law concepts including issues raised by modern horizontal drilling and fracturing; introduction to, and analysis of, the oil and gas lease with attention to its structural components and the law interpreting them; introduction to titles and conveyances in oil and gas; introduction to state regulation of oil and gas; discussion of selected oil and gas agreements that arise subsequent to the oil and gas lease; discussion of development of of state owned lands; and, brief consideration of federal environmental regulation. 

Evaluation of student performance will consist of a closed-book final examination (including essay questions or a combination of essay and short-answer questions) plus attendance and class participation credit. 

The course is focused on domestic onshore oil and gas law, including common property interests created in oil and gas and in the land from which they are produced. The course includes an examination of fundamental state oil and gas law concepts including issues raised by modern horizontal drilling and fracturing; introduction to, and analysis of, the oil and gas lease with attention to its common structural components and the law that has developed around them; introduction to titles and conveyances in oil and gas; introduction to state regulation of oil and gas; discussion of selected oil and gas agreements that arise subsequent to the oil and gas lease; discussion of developing of state owned lands; and, brief consideration of federal environmental regulation. 

Evaluation of student performance, depending on class size, either will consist of a final examination (including essay questions or a combination of essay and short-answer questions) plus attendance and class participation credit; or, it will consist of several assigned papers plus attendance and class participation credit. 

The course is focused on domestic onshore oil and gas law, including common property interests created in oil and gas and in the land from which they are produced. The course includes an examination of fundamental state oil and gas law concepts including issues raised by modern horizontal drilling and fracturing; introduction to, and analysis of, the oil and gas lease with attention to its common structural components and the law that has developed around them; introduction to titles and conveyances in oil and gas; introduction to state regulation of oil and gas; discussion of selected oil and gas agreements that arise subsequent to the oil and gas lease; discussion of developing of state owned lands; and, brief consideration of federal environmental regulation. 

Evaluation of student performance, depending on class size, either will consist of a final examination (including essay questions or a combination of essay and short-answer questions) plus attendance and class participation credit; or, it will consist of several assigned papers plus attendance and class participation credit. 

The course is focused on domestic onshore oil and gas law, including common property interests created in oil and gas and in the land from which they are produced. The course includes an examination of fundamental state oil and gas law concepts including issues raised by modern horizontal drilling and fracturing; introduction to, and analysis of, the oil and gas lease with attention to its common structural components and the law that has developed around them; introduction to titles and conveyances in oil and gas; introduction to state regulation of oil and gas; discussion of selected oil and gas agreements that arise subsequent to the oil and gas lease; discussion of developing of state owned lands; and, brief consideration of federal environmental regulation. 

Evaluation of student performance, depending on class size, either will consist of a final examination (including essay questions or a combination of essay and short-answer questions) plus attendance and class participation credit; or, it will consist of several assigned papers plus attendance and class participation credit. 

The 28325 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 28326 section of this course, which is identical but web-based.

The course is focused on domestic onshore oil and gas law, including common property interests created in oil and gas and in the land from which they are produced. The course includes consideration of the nature of an owner’s interest in oil and gas; the creation and duration of mineral leases and their components; the rights and duties between lessor and lessee; the nature and characteristics of a mineral fee; the rights and duties between mineral and surface owners; the different kinds of royalty and mineral interests; and, protection of interests in oil and gas properties against trespassers and wrongful claimants. Also included are issues raised by modern horizontal drilling and fracturing; regulation of exploration and production; and, introductions to environmental regulation of oil and gas.

Evaluation of student performance, in large part (approximately 95%), is based on a closed-book final examination consisting of short-answer questions and essay questions. The remaining portion of the course grade will be based on class attendance and participation.