Course Schedule

Transactions will focus on real contracts with real risks including a guaranty, a promissory note and a deed of trust.  We will also review a merger agreement and an asset acquisition agreement.  Time permitting, we will also review a joint venture agreement.

Prerequisite: First year Torts and first year Contracts.  

This class has two primary purposes. It will be a course in U.S. Constitutional law that focuses primarily on the allocation of powers with limited attention to the protection of individual liberties. The second purpose of the course is to have foreign lawyers experience how most U.S. students experience the study of constitutional law. For example, there are very few lectures. I teach primarily using the Socratic method. That means that students must come to class well prepared and will be called upon and engage with me and their classmates.

This class has two primary purposes. It will be a course in U.S. Constitutional law that focuses primarily on the allocation of powers with limited attention to the protection of individual liberties. The second purpose of the course is to have foreign lawyers experience how most U.S. students experience the study of constitutional law. For example, there are very few lectures. I teach primarily using the Socratic method. That means that students must come to class well prepared and will be called upon and engage with me and their classmates.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Renewed interest in nuclear energy is being driven by the convergence of rapidly rising electricity demand, the need for firm and reliable carbon-free generation, growing concern over energy security and domestic fuel resilience, and the search for scalable power sources to support AI, data centers, advanced manufacturing, and electrification. This short course provides a practical introduction to the legal and regulatory framework governing civilian nuclear energy in the United States. It focuses on the statutory, regulatory, and policy issues most central to understanding how nuclear projects are licensed, regulated, and advanced in the United States today. The course seeks to give students a working understanding of the Atomic Energy Act and related statutes, the structure and processes of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, reactor licensing pathways, environmental reviews, adjudicatory practice, spent fuel management, financial protection and liability under the Price Anderson Act, and rapidly evolving federal and state policies affecting both the current fleet and advanced reactor deployments. Particular emphasis will be placed on the legal issues that arise in real-world project development and regulation, including licensing strategy, hearing rights, judicial review, regulatory modernization, waste disposition, and the emerging role of Texas in advanced nuclear deployment.

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.  

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

This course will open with an introduction to the hydrological cycle, its natural stocks and flows, its fresh and saline elements, its phases, its vertical and horizontal dimensions, its mutable biogeochemistry, and its essentiality to the maintenance of life.  We'll draw on water's critical roles within the biosphere, the atmosphere, and the cryosphere and the accelerating destabilization of these roles as we encounter them in our time.

We'll then trace the powerful influences of U.S. law on the use and consumption, conservation, diversion, and development of water's stocks and flows. To do so, we'll first follow the evolution of American water law and policy as they emerge into a distinct body of doctrines in the soggy Eastern states; then, as they re-emerge through a very different body of law in the arid Western and Southwestern states; and, finally, as they emerge for the third time through the troubled development and implementation of federal authority.

The resultant complex of concepts, rules, and practices has spawned a regime of rights, entitlements, and demands for entitlement that has heavily favored stasis over long periods of time.

Now, the entire regime is cracking open under the competing pressures that markets,  social injustices, and strident political differences over resource exploitation in the face of accelerating climatic changes are bringing to bear. In the final portion of the course, we'll investigate some of these arenas of severe conflict, in search of the fourth evolutionary stage of water law--more coherent, more deeply splintered, or both-- that may be starting to emerge.

Our methods of approach will rely on a mix of lecture; individual- and team-led class participation; and some deep dives that will involve expert guests. Class members are encouraged to apply their diversity of disciplinary training and interests throughout the course and to adopt a special topic for the term, if they wish.

There will be a very brief written assignment and a final research paper on an instructor-approved topic that may be a group effort, in lieu of an exam. Honesty and graduate-level proficiency are the major criteria on which these projects will be judged.