Course Schedule

This seminar offers students of all backgrounds an analytical toolkit to become thought leaders on major legal issues that Asian Americans are either invoked to resolve difficult debates on or implicated in, from citizenship eligibility to language rights to affirmative action. 

In the first portion of the semester, “Frameworks,” each class session will revolve around a deep, foundational legal question provoked by paying close attention to Asian Americans and the law. For example, does litigation in the name of Asian American group interests inherently have collateral effects on how law impacts people who identify as being part of other groups? Is there anything at stake beyond questions of identity in how legal categories of race (such as “Asian American”) are constructed? When, if ever, should the experiences of Asian Americans be invoked to resolve debates on legal issues? In the second portion of the semester, “Fields,” we will examine foundational themes and questions such as these in specific areas of law like criminal law and election law. The third portion of the semester will be devoted to group workshops of student research projects and one-on-one meetings with the instructor to discuss projects.

Grades will be based on [1] thoughtful participation in class sessions; [2] five short weekly written reflections on assigned readings (around 200-300 words each); [3] a final analytical/argumentative paper involving original research (around 25-30 double-spaced pages), with a rough draft due before Fall Break; and [4] completion of low-stakes mini assignments designed to develop the final paper throughout the semester.

Many law school courses deal with the role of the “outside” lawyer in counseling clients and, often, representing clients in a litigation setting. This course deals with the compliance function—described by one author as the function that establishes and confirms “conformity between . . . action and a rule or standard,” the latter being determined by law, regulation or an organization’s policies. The compliance role within an organization principally focuses on avoiding problems (and resultant crises for the organization) by establishing policies designed to ensure that personnel conform to legal and regulatory requirements, counseling personnel when questions arise and establishing “early warning” systems to detect and respond to instances of possible malfeasance. It is also one of the organizational roles currently providing the most employment opportunities for lawyers—a law degree (or bar admission) may not technically be required to serve as a compliance officer, but it is increasingly seen by organizations as desirable, and is often becoming a requirement. The course will examine the role of the compliance function within a corporation or other organization and its relationship to other organizational roles and to regulatory agencies. It will also examine a number of current or recent situations in which problems—crises for the organizations involved—have been uncovered and will consider how more effective compliance programs might have unearthed them earlier, in time to avoid the crisis. Quite often (and contrary to the popular image), the best service a lawyer can perform for her client, but one that is invisible to public awareness, is to foresee a potential issue and adopt changes that avoid its occurrence. This course will provide some of the tools useful in that endeavor. The course is offered as a seminar for up to 16 students and will require a final paper submission (in lieu of an exam), as well as a short mid-course paper to provide an opportunity for earlier feedback. Course materials will be provided by the instructor and there will be no casebook..

This writing seminar will focus on the substantive and procedural legal issues which relate to the protection of children. The first six classes of the seminar will provide an overview of child protection issues. The first class will include a presentation on child abuse and neglect cases; what it is and what it is not. The distinction between criminal child abuse cases and civil child protection (CPS) cases will be discussed.  The next five classes will cover the duty to report child abuse, the removal of children from their homes, termination of parental rights, systemic problems within the foster care system, the rights of children and their parents in child protection proceedings, and the criminal prosecution of child abuse. The readings for the first six classes are posted on canvas or cites for the internet link and Westlaw are provided in the syllabus and on canvas. Students are expected to read and be prepared to discuss the assigned readings in class. Any changes in the class schedule will be posted on canvas. (Occasionally, the order of topics will alter from the initial outline due to availability of guest speakers. Additional readings and discussion may be supplemented which will include the interplay of the protection of children with other areas of the law such as immigration, education law, and family law. Grades will be based on the 1) outline, 2) first draft of paper, 3) feedback to the class regarding mandatory observation of CPS docket, 4) class participation, 5) in-class presentation of paper, 6) critique of another student's paper, and 7) 30 page final paper.

This course is not restricted 3L students though there is some preference given; second-year law students are welcome. There is no final exam for the course, your grade will be determined by the quality of your class participation and your six written and two oral projects. We will discuss all aspects of investigating, charging, trying, sentencing, and appealing federal criminal charges. We will take attendance, and we expect each of you to attend and to participate in every class discussion. Interns enrolled in the internship program at the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas or the Austin Federal Public Defender Service are encouraged to enroll in this seminar, and will be guaranteed admission if they request it. 

This seminar will address issues of free speech and academic freedom at universities. Students will do original research on a subject chosen in consultation with the instructor, write a paper of 25-40 pages due about a month before the end of classes, present and receive reactions to their papers in class, and submit a revised paper at the end of the semester.

This colloquium-style writing seminar takes on legal issues at the heart of health and innovation. We’ll explore and evaluate cutting-edge research. The first two classes will introduce students to the necessary background law and policy issues—health law and innovation 101. For the rest of the semester, students will engage with works-in-progress by six of the leading scholars in the field. We will discuss and evaluate the paper together and then host workshops where these scholars will present their papers. Students are required to submit discussion questions for each of the papers. Students will research and write 3 ten-page scholarly critiques of papers. Students will ask questions, deliver critiques, and make suggestions for improvement in conversation with the speakers. Professors will provide detailed comments to students on each of their papers.

This seminar explores the intersection of Judaism, Jews, and international human rights law, examining how Jewish teachings, values, and traditions shape perspectives on human dignity, social justice, and ethical responsibility. It will analyze challenges and opportunities for Jewish law, Jews, and Israel in engaging with contemporary human rights discourse. Topics include antisemitism, discrimination, law as a political tool, state-social movement dynamics, and biases in international human rights law.

As a survey course, it covers subjects that could warrant full-semester study. The syllabus includes provocative readings that offer critical insights into the role of law, the strengths and limitations of human rights approaches, and Israel’s place in the international system and Jewish Diaspora life. Readings will include Jewish texts, contemporary sources, and international legal documents.

Students will gain knowledge of Jewish and human rights law while critically reflecting on whether Jewish historical experiences—such as antisemitism, exile, and the Holocaust—offer unique perspectives on human rights advocacy. The course encourages philosophical inquiry into ethics and law, examining how Jewish traditions intersect with modern human rights concerns. Ultimately, it provides a framework for understanding this relationship and contributing to contemporary debates from both Jewish and human rights law perspectives.

The Endangered Species Act has been labeled "the pit bull of environmental statutes" because of the strong legal protection it provides to imperiled plants and animals. But over 50 years after its near-unanimous passage by Congress, the Act is a lightning rod for controversy. It is often criticized by developers for causing delays and higher costs, and by environmentalists for failing to live up to its full potential. The National Environmental Policy Act has morphed from an almost-universally praised "common sense" law intended to encourage federal agencies to "look before they leap" into a widely criticized, process-laden behemoth that environmental advocates and developers alike agree should be amended. This seminar will explore the records of the ESA and NEPA and the extent to which each hinders (or not) economic development in the United States. We will focus on the key legal issues associated with implementation of the laws and examine the unique challenges they face when addressing modern environmental threats, such as biodiversity loss and climate change. We will read the statutes, relevant cases, and regulations, and articles that discuss the use of the ESA and NEPA by advocates whose motives are not always aligned with the goals of the laws. During the last several weeks of class, students will present their seminar papers on topics related to the ESA and NEPA. Students may choose to develop papers about a range of relevant subjects, including the challenges of balancing species protection with economic development, the tensions between federal and state/local control over activities that affect species, and the track record of past administrative efforts to update/reform the ESA's and NEPA's implementation.

The seminar will be a study of Ronald Dworkin's theory of law and its critics. Dworkin is one of the most influential thinkers in Anglo-American political and legal philosophy of the past half century. The study will concentrate on Dworkin’s masterwork Law’s Empire and (time permitting) will examine his later work Justice for Hedgehogs.

This is a colloquium-style writing seminar on contemporary issues in American law and politics. Most of the sessions will take the form of a workshop in which a leading scholar in law or political science, typically from another University, will present a work-in-progress. Students will be required to provide written critiques (roughly 5-10 pages) of these projects that will typically be provided to the presenting scholar, and will receive intensive personal feedback from both professors on how to improve their writing and critical analysis.

This seminar will cover major legal and philosophical issues surrounding parentage. For example, we will examine the normative and historical grounding for parental rights, and apply the lessons learned to current questions about the robustness of parental rights when they conflict with a) the potential rights of children or b) the interests of the state. The seminar will also cover the logically prior question of who is a parent? Here, the seminar will delve into the bioethics and philosophical literature on why genetic parents are the default legal parents, and under what circumstances this default should change. We will also examine current law, including various recent legal developments on de facto parentage and disestablishing paternity, to uncover implicit judgments current law makes about the nature of parentage. Other questions that the seminar will address include: Can/Should the government require potential parents to obtain a license before becoming legal parents? What is the proper balance of power in the state-parent-child triad? What are the ethical dimensions of the decision to have children? What obligations might grown children owe to their parents?

Despite federalized standards, much health and environmental protection is ultimately local in nature. This is where the actual exposures and inequities occur. This is where activities that pollute and alter the natural environment take place. And this is where we also see some of the greatest forward strides in sustainability and innovation that outpace federal programs. Yet despite the pivotal role of local (and state) government as both the source and solution to environmental and public health problems, its role has not received systematic study within the law. This exploratory seminar seeks to synthesize the pockets of existing research to develop a clearer understanding of the role and future potential of local government in advancing environmental and health protection.

This three credit seminar course will focus on the environmental impacts and resulting political, legal and international issues arising from the exploration, development, production, transportation and delivery of energy sources. The development and use of every source of energy has environmental, economic and political impacts. The election of President Trump presents a major change in the direction of US energy and environmental policy with significant national, state and international effects. To effectively grapple with these issues, students will first gain a general knowledge of the primary energy sources and environmental impacts of national and world wide energy production through a survey format. Topics will include environmental, political and geo-political impacts of oil and gas exploration and production, the mining and production of "rare earth minerals", coal fired generation, solar, wind and nuclear power. The course will then transition into the development of a basic knowledge of the legal and administrative structure of Federal and Texas energy and environmental law.  Using the historical background of domestic and foreign energy development and environmental success, failure, disasters and crisis, we will analyze the issues, conflicts and litigation certain to follow the Trump administration policy changes. The course will also focus on the primary energy sources utilized in Texas and specifically analyze the causes, impact and resulting policy changes of the winter storm of 2021. Students will have an opportunity to utilize the Texas regulatory and legal structure to develop a knowledge of the basic framework of State authority and the conflicts and interplay between State and Federal law. We will work through the issues involved in regulation of fuels for mobil sources, specifically the impending litigation over the California waiver under the Clean Air Act and the effects on EV adoption. Time permitting, the course will focus on various specific energy development projects, with some emphasis on Texas and the Gulf Coast, to gain a practical understanding of the legal and administrative processes involved in dealing with environmental consequences of energy production and delivery. Finally, we will delve into the myriad foreign policy issues and conflicts involved in energy production and climate change policies.  Students will complete the semester by writing and presenting a seminar paper.

Morrison and the Law

This seminar explores the intersections of law, race, history, and justice through the literary and nonfiction works of Toni Morrison. A towering figure in American letters, Morrison interrogated the structures of law and justice not only through her fiction but also in her essays, speeches, and public intellectual work. From novels such as The Bluest Eye (1973), Beloved (1987), and Paradise (1998), to essays on Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill, Bill Clinton, and O.J. Simpson, Morrison’s writing offers a profound critique of how law has functioned historically—as both an instrument of racialized control and a site of contested meaning—and invites us to imagine what justice might look like beyond formal legal structures.

Through close readings of Morrison’s novels and essays, alongside legal cases, critical theory, and historical documents, we will explore how legal regimes have shaped the lived experiences of Americans, and how literature can expose, complicate, and resist those regimes. Key themes include slavery and its afterlives, the construction of property and personhood, sexual violence and legal silence, gendered violence, segregation, and the limits of liberal legalism.

Course requirements include a prospectus and annotated bibliography for a research project on Morrison and the law, a class presentation of the project, and preliminary and final drafts of a paper (25-35 pages) on the project.

The purpose of this course is to expose students to the evolution of information warfare, from the 1700s to current day. The course will examine key regulations, including the First Amendment and Section 230, the utilization of propaganda campaigns, the psychology behind how they work, and the historical implications. The course will then look at the advent of social media and algorithmic optimization to facilitate and accelerate the reach and impact. Finally, students will discuss where this will lead in the coming years and explore potential policy solutions across intelligence tools and strengthening critical thinking, as well as the legal implications including privacy laws, internet regulations, and national security implications. Please note that this is a writing seminar, with the final project being a paper between 30-50 pages long.

>Financial regulation is the principal tool used by the public or official sector to achieve or approach financial stability and market integrity. The events of 2023 and 2020-21, and the impact of the financial cataclysms of 2008-10,  prove that in times of severe stress (whether or not fundamentally economic or financial) the functioning of and support by financial regulation is both objectively and subjectively central.   It's also notable that  regulation can stifle important ways in which finance can making funding available to meet the needs of a population and the innovation that enables the financial system to address the needs of the real economy.  It is no surprise, then, that the directions of financial regulation in the US have vascillated notably over the last 15 years. It is worth noting that in every year there is considerable change in the regulatory landscape (sometimes only in details and sometimes otherwise). Accordingly, course materials will change or will be supplemented as the semester progresses. In some years, the amount and reach of changes are larger than in some other years. This seminar reviews the structure and operations  of financial market regulation--specifically securities, derivatives (or swaps), banking, and systems to inhibit money laundering and terrorist (or "threat") financing. We will concentrate on United States regulatory systems, but we will -- as we must-- examine the international regulatory regimes and the cross-border effects of regulation. Know it or not, or like it or not, regulation of financial markets touches and changes every aspect of our economic lives. (Paying rent and buying groceries and obtaining cash from an ATM and obtaining funding for nonprofit organizations are parts of those economic lives, as are public and private issuances of securities, and multibillion dollar finacings.) This topic includes cryptocurrency, blockchain records, fintech, public-sector support for markets and issuers, and consumer credit regulation, all of which we will discuss during the class as time permits. This is not a substitute for a securities regulation course but, then, securities regulation is not a prerequisite for this class. A major paper will be required at the end of the course. Course grades are determined by class participation,  the paper, and a short writing assignment to be completed in the first part of the course.  (Class participation may include some short, narrow quizzes that are calibrated to assess the general  achievement of learning outcomes.)  Consistently with a recognition that the topic has broad application, the course materials come from many sources (some of which may be surprising) and are in different media. That having been said, one requisite for the course--by no means a formal one, but a real requirement-- is that the students have an interest in learning about the area.  And, notwithstanding the language that precedes this sentence, the instructor is pretty casual.

In this seminar, students will explore rapidly evolving debates around government surveillance, new technologies, civil liberties, and personal privacy. The course will cover surveillance by the U.S. intelligence community, police, and U.S. allies and adversaries abroad, examining key legal instruments and court decisions in light of broader policy debates. The class will also examine the interbranch allocation of responsibility for authorizing, implementing, and overseeing surveillance programs. In particular, the course will focus on surveillance activities affecting new and emerging technologies and those technologies’ potential to shift the balance between citizen and state. Students will be evaluated based on class participation and a research paper fulfilling the Law School writing requirement.

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.

Secured Credit is a key class for many types of students. It's essential for student heading into transactional careers or those in litigation in commercial law. It is also crucial for litigators, including public-interest attorneys, who win cases and want their clients to actually collect the money they've won. It is important for other students as well because credit is one of the major systems underlying the U.S. and global economies. Top legal professionals - as Texas Law graduates will be - must have a familiarity with it. This course covers a breadth of credit systems: consumer, business, secured, and unsecured – with a significant emphasis on commercial secured lending. This course also covers a fundamental question not addressed elsewhere in law school curriculum: once you win that big court case, how do you collect money from the other side? (Or, once you lose that big court case, how do you avoid paying?) Students will engage with real-world-based problems, financial current events, and practical strategies for addressing financial problems in consumer, small business and corporate contexts. The course's primary body of law is Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, but it also touches on bankruptcy topics and real estate law. A secured loan is one in which the debtor and lender agree that if the debtor does not pay, the lender can take specific items of property from the debtor. This property is called collateral, and the lender is said to have a security interest in the collateral. The collateral may be tangible property such as inventory, equipment, and consumer goods, or intangible property such as stocks and bonds or the debtor's right to collect from people who owe money to her. This Secured Credit course examines how secured transactions are structured and why they are structured that way. It covers the mechanics of making secured loans, the rules that govern repossessing the collateral if the debtor doesn't pay, and what can happen to security interests if the debtor goes bankrupt. It also examines the priority rules that rank competing claims to the same collateral. Through the problem method, students will learn skills that can be applied to a variety of statutes in law school and many types of legal careers.

Sneaker Law: Legal Issues Involving Apparel, Trademarks and Endorsements will provide students with an overview of the $70 billion-dollar annual sneaker industry, focusing on its main legal and business components. This course prepares students to think and act as lawyers and business professionals in anticipating and addressing the legal and business issues faced by sneaker companies, designers, manufacturers, and other parties involved in the sneaker / apparel industry. This course will include a review of major sneaker deals, entity types and formation, endorsements, manufacturing and distribution, licensing and collaborations, marketing, intellectual property, employment law, standard clauses, counterfeit goods, and the changing landscape of NCAA college athletics with Name, Image and Likeness. Supplementing the rich case law on these topics are a group of highly accomplished professionals that will guest speak during the semester. Required Text: Sneaker Law – V1 – Anand & Goldstein – ISBN: 9781735782003 Required Supplemental Text: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike – Phil Knight – ISBN: 1501135910 Required Supplemental Text: Black Market - Merl Code - ISBN: 9781335425775 Required Supplemental Text: Sneaker Wars - Barbara Smit - ISBN: 9780061246579

State constitutional law is often overlooked, understudied, or neglected in the traditional law school curriculum. As the Conference of Chief Justices noted, "being a competent and effective lawyer requires the understanding of both the federal Constitution and state constitutional law." Recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, modern executive branch actions, and contemporary legislation and their effects on domestic legal systems indicate that questions of state constitutional law may be moving to the forefront. This course examines the nature, significance, and relevance of state constitutional law in the United States. Addressing both institutional structures and individual rights, the course considers the design, ratification, and amendment of state constitutions; their interpretation and application by state legislators, the multiple executive, and elected judges; and their use by lawyers and courts in protecting guarantees of liberty and property rights, including an examination of questions concerning when and how state constitutions may recognize rights that remain unrecognized by the Supreme Court. A student completing the course will understand and appreciate the role of state constitutions and how, to borrow from Justice Brennan, "the composite work of the courts of the fifty states probably has greater significance in measuring how well America attains the ideal of equal justice for all."

This course focuses on the problem of making the best sense of statutes and regulations. Students will practice interpreting statutes both as judges and as advocates, learning skills that will help them in practice. In addition to pragmatic questions, the course will address prominent theories of statutory interpretation and debates about which approaches to interpretation are or are not appropriate. Students will occasionally be asked to interpret statutes and defend those interpretations as part of in-class group exercises.

The course is offered through the full-time MBA program as an upper-level accounting elective. The goal of the course is to provide a fundamental understanding of the principles of taxation and financial planning. Traditional business courses analyze an array of factors affecting business decisions but provide little systematic consideration of individual financial planning decisions. This case-based course intends to bridge this gap by discussing how accounting, economic, finance, and legal principles affect a variety of personal financial planning decisions.

The course is offered through the full-time MBA program as an upper-level accounting elective. The goal of the course is to provide a fundamental understanding of the principles of taxation and financial planning. Traditional business courses analyze an array of factors affecting business decisions but provide little systematic consideration of individual financial planning decisions. This case-based course intends to bridge this gap by discussing how accounting, economic, finance, and legal principles affect a variety of personal financial planning decisions.

The course is offered through the full-time MBA program as an upper-level accounting elective. The goal of the course is to provide a fundamental understanding of the principles of taxation and financial planning. Traditional business courses analyze an array of factors affecting business decisions but provide little systematic consideration of individual financial planning decisions. This case-based course intends to bridge this gap by discussing how accounting, economic, finance, and legal principles affect a variety of personal financial planning decisions.