Course Schedule

This course is a focused examination of mediation processes. We will take the topics from the Alternative Dispute Resolution course and extend our understanding with practical exercises. The student should leave this course better equipped to represent clients at mediation. This is a skills-oriented course that requires active participation, with the goal of immersing you in the developing realities of mediation.

 This course is designed to give students an introduction to the real world experience of the dealmaking process, from the first contact between the parties to drafting and negotiating the documents that govern transformational corporate transactions. Over the course of the semester, we’ll break down the main agreements involved in a hypothetical deal with a view to developing a fundamental understanding of how those components interact with the overall business arrangement and deal dynamics. You will analyze and learn to understand how the key provisions of these transaction agreements are negotiated with a view to value maximization for the client and appropriate risk allocation among the parties to a deal. We will also discuss the less tangible aspects of dealmaking that take place outside the four corners of the transaction agreements but are no less important, including the economic and personal motivations of the various parties involved and the psychology and group dynamics of a deal process. As the deal world is an ever changing environment, we’ll look to bring current real world examples into the classroom. Students will engage in-class group practice assignments, including drafting (or “marking up”) transaction documents and preparing issues lists in the context of a prepared fact pattern. Subject matter experts from K&E will be presenting special topics, including financing strategies, navigating deal litigation and public disclosure issues.

Professional athletes have had a right of publicity – the right to profit from their name, image, and likeness – for decades.  Until recently, college athletes did not have this right, but recent court cases and state laws have changed this.  This course will analyze the new rights granted to college athletes, how the athletes can benefit from their name, image, and likeness, and how the new rules may change the landscape of college sports.

This course will survey the bodies of law and government institutions involved in counterterrorism. These include intelligence and surveillance law, criminal law, international humanitarian law (including rules for detention and targeting), public international law and U.S. Constitutional law relevant to the use of military force against terrorist groups, and others. It will also consider contemporary debates over domestic terrorism, online content moderation and mandatory takedowns, and encrypted communications, while enriching these discussions with international comparisons and guest speakers from the world of practice. Students will be evaluated based on a final exam and class participation.

This course will provide an introduction and overview of the “new” and expanding use of the traditional tools of economic statecraft -- including sanctions, export controls, and investment reviews -- to protect and defend the national security of the United States against foreign adversaries.  Students will learn how the Treasury and Commerce Departments have joined forces with more traditional national security actors in the Intelligence Community like the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense to advance U.S. national security interests abroad and to isolate and undermine foreign threats.  Students will consider the impact of laws like the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Arms Export Control Act, the Export Controls Reform Act, and the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, as well as other regulations and authorities, and will be prepared to recognize and participate in the growing use of these tools in our post-September 11 world.

No textbook required; course will reference articles and cases.

Negotiation is the pathway to agreement. Much of what lawyers do involves negotiation -- the structured process of communicating toward an agreement. This is an "audience participation," experiential learning course that blends law, social science, and ethics toward the development of practice skills. Topics covered will include both transaction and legal claim negotiations.  This class will immerse students in the reality of contemporary negotiations.

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.

Negotiation is the pathway to agreement. Much of what lawyers do involves negotiation -- the structured process of communicating toward an agreement. This is an "audience participation," experiential learning course that blends law, social science, and ethics toward the development of practice skills. Topics covered will include both transaction and legal claim negotiations.  This class will immerse students in the reality of contemporary negotiations.

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.

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 out-of-class negotiation problems should enroll for this course.

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. 

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-.

Prerequisite: Law 254J, 354J, 454J, 554J, (Federal Income Taxation) 254N, or 354N (Federal Income Taxation A).

The course covers the taxation of partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations, the most common forms of business organizations that involve a single level of tax. Most business entities with non-publicly traded interests take one of these forms; almost all such entities should take one of these forms. The rules on partnership tax also are increasingly relevant to a corporate and international practice as partnerships are used for corporate and international joint ventures and as vehicles for mergers and acquisitions. The course is essential for anyone who intends to practice in tax. It is useful for anyone who intends to practice in an area involving significant business planning.

This course provides a practical understanding of the primary business objectives and legal considerations in equity co-investing and the formation of joint  ventures (“JVs”) as well as the core legal documents commonly used to govern them. While the form and terms of a JV can widely vary, we will focus primarily on investments carried out through separate legal entities and, with a few exceptions, assume the JV and JV parties are US entities. Throughout the semester, students will not only gain an understanding of common business and legal terms negotiated in the formation of a JV, but also see how those concepts are translated into the form of a legal agreement using model documents (primarily the limited liability company agreement  or shareholders agreement). We will also use select facts pertaining to real life JVs to illustrate the areas of possible tension or alignment between JV parties and how different types of JV partners (financial vs. strategic) bring different contributions and concerns to the table. The course will also provide a general background of private equity structures and strategies.

25% Class Participation

75% Drafting Exercises (3 total) - Over the course of the semester students will complete two drafting exercises where they will be asked to review and propose revisions to or interpretations of select provisions of a joint venture agreement using a hypothetical fact pattern and client goals based on readings and class discussions on the applicable topic(s). There will be a third and final assignment to be completed as a take-home final which will require students to analyze a hypothetical fact pattern and documents using the knowledge gained over the course of the semester  

It is strongly suggest students take Business Organizations/Associations as a pre-requisite or at a minimum concurrently with the course.

This course examines doctrines and policy concerns of United States patent law. Focal points include (1) patentability requirements such as eligible subject matter, novelty, and nonobviousness; (2) assessment of patent scope and forms of infringing activities; and (3) theories and institutions of patent law. There are no specific prerequisites. The course is designed to be accessible to students without a science or engineering background. Students are required to participate in class on "on call" panel days. Grading will be based on satisfaction of the panel requirement and performance on a one-day, take-home examination.

This Patent Litigation course will cover major issues in a typical patent litigation from pre-suit evaluation through trial and appeal (time permitting).   Students will be divided into two roughly equal groups, one representing the plaintiff (and patent owner), the other will represent the defendant. Students will develop a patent litigation between two fictional companies. The phases of litigation covered will include: pre-suit analysis, complaint/answer, early motion practice, discovery, claim construction, expert reports, pretrial/trial, and appeal.  The course will also cover inter partes review and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.  We will also discuss mediation and settlement.

This course covers practical aspects of preparing and prosecuting patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and non-U.S. patent offices.  Hands-on experience will be obtained with analyzing invention disclosures, preparing claims, preparing patent applications, responding to restriction requirements, responding to office actions, filing appeal briefs, filing continuing applications, etc. 

This course covers persuasive legal writing and oral argument before an appellate panel.  All students will complete a series of assignments designed to help you learn to write an appellate brief.  All students will write a complete appellate brief and make two oral arguments.  The course also covers other practical legal skills.

This course covers persuasive legal writing and oral argument before an appellate panel.  All students will complete a series of assignments designed to help you learn to write an appellate brief.  All students will write a complete appellate brief and make two oral arguments.  The course also covers other practical legal skills.

This course covers persuasive legal writing and oral argument before an appellate panel.  All students will complete a series of assignments designed to help you learn to write an appellate brief.  All students will write a complete appellate brief and make two oral arguments.  The course also covers other practical legal skills.

This course covers persuasive legal writing and oral argument before an appellate panel.  All students will complete a series of assignments designed to help you learn to write an appellate brief.  All students will write a complete appellate brief and make two oral arguments.  The course also covers other practical legal skills.

This course covers persuasive legal writing and oral argument before an appellate panel.  All students will complete a series of assignments designed to help you learn to write an appellate brief.  All students will write a complete appellate brief and make two oral arguments.  The course also covers other practical legal skills.

This course covers persuasive legal writing and oral argument before an appellate panel.  All students will complete a series of assignments designed to help you learn to write an appellate brief.  All students will write a complete appellate brief and make two oral arguments.  The course also covers other practical legal skills.

This course covers persuasive legal writing and oral argument before an appellate panel.  All students will complete a series of assignments designed to help you learn to write an appellate brief.  All students will write a complete appellate brief and make two oral arguments.  The course also covers other practical legal skills.

This course covers persuasive legal writing and oral argument before an appellate panel.  All students will complete a series of assignments designed to help you learn to write an appellate brief.  All students will write a complete appellate brief and make two oral arguments.  The course also covers other practical legal skills.

This course covers persuasive legal writing and oral argument before an appellate panel.  All students will complete a series of assignments designed to help you learn to write an appellate brief.  All students will write a complete appellate brief and make two oral arguments.  The course also covers other practical legal skills.