Course Schedule

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

The 27475 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   27477 section of this course, which is identical but web-based.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.

Limits of liability and methods of establishing liability for intentional and unintentional injuries to persons or property.

Tort law, like most law, is constantly evolving in response to changing circumstances and shifting social values and convictions. Often, this evolution involves small adjustments to existing legal principles. At other times, however, the warranted response is more transformative. For instance, the growing threat of global warming and, in particular, the significant role humans play in contributing to it may call for a transformative shift in how we understand and apply the tort of public nuisance. Another is the increasing awareness of the danger posed by private, rather than merely state, suppression of speech. Online platforms, employers, and even landlords often engage in censorship, leaving platform users, employees, and tenants unable to engage in expressive acts. Although tort liability for private censorship remains limited, recent developments suggest that changes in the law may be on the horizon. This course will offer in-depth examinations of these and other important transformations in and around the law of torts. At a more general level, engaging in these micro-based analyses of the law of torts can illuminate the broader, macro-based questions such as how tort law can respond to emerging challenges and what tort law is for. By examining these shifts, the course will address not only the future of tort law but also foundational questions about its role of addressing the demands of freedom, equality, justice, and legitimacy in a rapidly evolving world.

No casebook will be used.

This course will provide in-depth study of U.S. and Texas law protecting trade secrets, the legal mechanism that businesses are increasingly relying on to protect their intellectual property and confidential business information. The course will cover statutory and common law protection for trade secrets. It will examine trade secret fundamentals such as the scope, duration, and prerequisites for trade secret protection, including subject matter, secrecy, economic value, and reasonable efforts to protect the trade secret. Common misappropriation scenarios will be addressed: joint ventures, potential acquisitions, and departing employees going to work for competitors. In addition, the course will explore litigation strategies for trade secrets cases, in particular requests for a preliminary injunction, forensic discovery, and timing of identification of the trade secret. Employment law angles of misappropriation of trade secrets will also be discussed, such as issues regarding confidentiality and non-competition agreements. Procedures and requirements for preserving trade secret protection will also be covered. Finally, the course touches on relevant comparisons between trade secret law and other legal doctrines, such as patent law. TEXTBOOK: Trade Secret Law in a nutshell. Sharon K. Sandeen, Elizabeth A. Rowe. ISBN: 9781640202115

This course will provide in-depth study of U.S. and Texas law protecting trade secrets, the legal mechanism that businesses are increasingly relying on to protect their intellectual property and confidential business information. The course will cover statutory and common law protection for trade secrets. It will examine trade secret fundamentals such as the scope, duration, and prerequisites for trade secret protection, including subject matter, secrecy, economic value, and reasonable efforts to protect the trade secret. Common misappropriation scenarios will be addressed: joint ventures, potential acquisitions, and departing employees going to work for competitors. In addition, the course will explore litigation strategies for trade secrets cases, in particular requests for a preliminary injunction, forensic discovery, and timing of identification of the trade secret. Employment law angles of misappropriation of trade secrets will also be discussed, such as issues regarding confidentiality and non-competition agreements. Procedures and requirements for preserving trade secret protection will also be covered. Finally, the course touches on relevant comparisons between trade secret law and other legal doctrines, such as patent law.

TEXTBOOK: Trade Secret Law in a nutshell. Sharon K. Sandeen, Elizabeth A. Rowe. ISBN: 9781640202115

This course will provide in-depth study of U.S. and Texas law protecting trade secrets, the legal mechanism that businesses are increasingly relying on to protect their intellectual property and confidential business information. The course will cover statutory and common law protection for trade secrets. It will examine trade secret fundamentals such as the scope, duration, and prerequisites for trade secret protection, including subject matter, secrecy, economic value, and reasonable efforts to protect the trade secret. Common misappropriation scenarios will be addressed: joint ventures, potential acquisitions, and departing employees going to work for competitors. In addition, the course will explore litigation strategies for trade secrets cases, in particular requests for a preliminary injunction, forensic discovery, and timing of identification of the trade secret. Employment law angles of misappropriation of trade secrets will also be discussed, such as issues regarding confidentiality and non-competition agreements. Procedures and requirements for preserving trade secret protection will also be covered. Finally, the course touches on relevant comparisons between trade secret law and other legal doctrines, such as patent law.

TEXTBOOK: Trade Secret Law in a nutshell. Sharon K. Sandeen, Elizabeth A. Rowe. ISBN: 9781640202115

Trademark law is a species of intellectual property and unfair competition law. Trademarks represent the goodwill (or reputation) of a business and its products/services. Businesses rely on trademarks to identify their products/services, to indicate the source of those products/services, and to distinguish those products/services from the competition. Consumers rely on trademarks to distinguish products/services among competitors and as assurances of quality. Needless to say, trademarks are among a business’s most valuable assets.

This course delves into the fundamentals and modern-day application of U.S. trademark law. We will study the underlying principles of trademark law, the different types of trademarks, how trademark rights are acquired and lost, the scope and limits of those rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark violates the rights of another or deceives the public, the defenses and remedies available to parties in an action for trademark infringement or dilution, and an overview of the federal trademark registration process. Time permitting, we will also study closely related topics like trade dress, cybersquatting, counterfeit and gray market goods, false advertising, and the right of publicity.

Trademark law is a species of intellectual property and unfair competition law. Trademarks represent the goodwill (or reputation) of a business and its products/services. Businesses rely on trademarks to identify their goods/services, to indicate the source of those products/services, and to distinguish those products/services from the competition. Consumers rely on trademarks to distinguish products/services among competitors and as assurances of quality. Needless to say, trademarks are among a business’s most valuable assets.

This course delves into the fundamentals and modern-day application of U.S. trademark law. We will study the underlying principles of trademark law, the different types of trademarks, how trademark rights are acquired and lost, the scope and limits of those rights, the standards for determining whether a trademark violates the rights of another or deceives the public, the defenses and remedies available to parties in an action for trademark infringement or dilution, and an overview of the federal trademark registration process. Time permitting, we will also study closely related topics like trade dress, cybersquatting, counterfeit and gray market goods, false advertising, and the right of publicity.

This course will explore the doctrine, policy, and theory of trademark protection and unfair competition law. We will focus on the federal Lanham Act and also cover some aspects of state unfair competition law. We will ask why, and in what circumstances, things like words, symbols, slogans, product design, packaging, smells, sounds, and restaurant decor can serve as trademarks. We will also study the rules of trademark ownership, including how a party can obtain, maintain, and transfer trademark rights; the scope and limitations of trademark rights; the rules and policies related to trademark infringement and dilution; the nature of trademark defenses, and the right of competitors (and the public) to engage in unauthorized uses of marks for purposes such as parody and comparative advertising. Along the way, we will discuss the heated debates over the broad expansion of trademark rights in recent decades and explore some of the trademark issues involved with internet uses of marks. Other topics that might be covered, time permitting, include false advertising and the legal protection of trademarks abroad.

Transactional Practice Skills: Doing Deals introduces students to the skills that lawyers—in particular, junior lawyers—will need in transactional practice in a modern “biglaw” firm. In this course, students will experience critical aspects of what it is like to be a junior associate on a transactional “deal team” as well as get a “behind the curtain” view on life as a transactional biglaw associate. Throughout the course, students will gain experience as both buy-side and sell-side counsel using various assignments and exercises as part of a mock semester-long transaction. Students will represent their client(s) from the transaction’s earliest stages through signing. Through the lens of the transaction, we will focus on understanding and manifesting the client’s business objectives, performing and communicating the findings of due diligence, drafting and revising documents and honing the soft skills (such as internal and external client communication and appropriate time and deadline management) that are necessary for a student to become a successful junior associate. During the semester, students will interact with practicing attorneys and mock clients in-person and via teleconference to walk through documents and receive feedback, which they will use to revise documents or modify their approach to various issues, much as associates do every day in firms.

Transactional Practice Skills: Doing Deals introduces students to the skills that lawyers—in particular, junior lawyers—will need in transactional practice in a modern “biglaw” firm. In this course, students will experience critical aspects of what it is like to be a junior associate on a transactional “deal team” as well as get a “behind the curtain” view on life as a transactional biglaw associate. Throughout the course, students will gain experience as both buy-side and sell-side counsel using various assignments and exercises as part of a mock semester-long transaction. Students will represent their client(s) from the transaction’s earliest stages through signing. Through the lens of the transaction, we will focus on understanding and manifesting the client’s business objectives, performing and communicating the findings of due diligence, drafting and revising documents and honing the soft skills (such as internal and external client communication and appropriate time and deadline management) that are necessary for a student to become a successful junior associate. During the semester, students will interact with practicing attorneys and mock clients in-person and via teleconference to walk through documents and receive feedback, which they will use to revise documents or modify their approach to various issues, much as associates do every day in firms.