Course Schedule

This course provides an introduction to legal doctrines and policy questions relating to the organization and operation of the administrative state. The focus is on federal administrative law, with significant attention devoted to judicial review of agency action, structural constitutional questions of separation and balance of powers, and procedural requirements under the Due Process Clause and Administrative Procedure Act. 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 course is a broad survey of three main types of legal writing: objective analysis, persuasive analysis, and transactional drafting. The course will also cover many other topics crucial to high-level professional writing: use of forms, advanced legal citation, the plain English movement, advanced grammar and punctuation, document design, legal usage, and editing. Students will receive individual critiques of their writing, and lectures will use model answers and sample critiques.

This 2-day course (5.75 hours each day) covers two broad legal-writing topics. Day one covers mechanics: common mistakes in word usage, grammar, and punctuation—and how to avoid and fix them—plus the most challenging advanced topics in the mechanics of legal writing. Key goals are to strengthen your writing credibility and raise your writing IQ. Day two covers broader concepts: concision, persuasion, organization, and revision, as well as some citation and transactional drafting. The course requires pre-class reading and quizzes and a final written project. Pass-fail.

A course focusing on real-life cases and key strategic decisions made immediately before and during trial to position you for success. Nationally renowned trial master, David Beck, will demonstrate, share secrets and teach strategy. This is an advanced course. Texas Civil Procedure and Advocacy classes are recommended prior courses.

You spent the first year of law school analyzing published cases. The emphasis of much of your reading was on the results of published cases and the legal principles each case teaches. Importantly, while trial court judges can publish written opinions on discreet issues, most of your previous reading focused on appellate court opinions. Every appellate court opinion begins with a narrative of the facts. The facts are critical in developing the legal opinions pronounced by the opinion. The way the facts are recited often allows the reader to begin developing a just result in the case simply by the way the facts are presented. But what does the first year of law school teach you about developing facts? We certainly spend a great deal of time analyzing facts, but how do you produce them? How do facts become evidence? Why do some facts seem to matter more than other facts? At a time in our society when it is hard to find common ground on what constitutes an objective fact, how do current attitudes (and social media) affect our profession where so much of the law depends upon the facts? And nestled somewhere between Evidence and Federal Courts perhaps our Course Catalog will one day have a class devoted entirely to Facts. Because no matter what type of law you practice, you’re going to have to deal with the facts of your case. You’re going to have to deal with the good facts, the bad facts, and the ambiguous facts. Whether you practice Admiralty Law or Wills and Estates, you must wrestle with disputed facts. And mostly importantly you, the lawyer, must find facts. Facts do not announce themselves, and rarely does the judge or jury understand the significance of any fact. Like latent fingerprints, we often see only remnants and traces of facts. These facts are never reviewed by an appellate court unless they are collected, preserved, interpreted, presented, and introduced as evidence. It is our job to find truth and extract justice for our clients by distilling the vapor of nuance from these latent facts. This class is a guide to that process. This class has a mandatory evening skills component (Monday or Wednesday evening). Students must register for both the lecture (376M) and either Monday or Wednesday evening skills portion (176N) of the class. Please note, the evening Skills portion of the class will not begin until week 5 or 6 of the semester and will run for eight weeks. Advocacy Survey is designed for all law students. While focusing primarily on trial skills, the course will also cover topics such as transactional practice, motion practice and alternative dispute resolution. By combining theory through the lecture sessions with technique training in skills sessions, students are able to practice what they learn. Students get hands-on practice in areas such as opening and closing statements, the use and relevance of technology in litigation, transferable skills for a transactional practice, and the basic skills necessary to try a case. The skill sessions will end with the trial of a case. Students will examine a case file from pretrial motions, transactional, ADR, arbitration, voir dire, and trial. This is a 4-credit series (1 credit pass/fail, 3 credits graded). Prerequisite or Concurrent: Evidence.

Students get hands-on practice in areas such as opening and closing statements, the use and relevance of technology in litigation, transferable skills for a transactional practice, and the basic skills necessary to try a case. The skill sessions will end with the trial of a case.

Students get hands-on practice in areas such as opening and closing statements, the use and relevance of technology in litigation, transferable skills for a transactional practice, and the basic skills necessary to try a case. The skill sessions will end with the trial of a case.

This course focuses on the changing health and supportive care needs of an aging metropolis. We examine the influences of political and economic forces that shape public policies related to health and social welfare policy using Austin as a case example. Potential topics to be covered are affordable housing, homelessness, transportation, medical care, social services, access to electronic media, and income supports. One potential way of addressing this new reality that the instructor has been involved with in recent years is intergenerational day centers (IDC) that combine adult day health care and childcare services.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (3 HOUR COURSE) The Alternative Dispute Resolution Survey course is designed to provide a broad-based introduction to negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, for students interested in either advocacy or transactional practices. ADR methods are now more common than the courtroom for resolving civil disputes; more than 99% of civil cases are settled before trial, if cases are even filed at the courthouse. Many commercial agreements now contain mandatory mediation/arbitration provisions, and statutory and case law both favor ADR. This course will examine the policy and business reasons for the rise in ADR; explore the various ADR methods; discuss negotiating and why lawyers must learn successful negotiating skills; and provide students with an opportunity to experience these concepts through class exercises. The professor is a 30+year litigation attorney with substantial experience to both trial and ADR disputes, and she brings a practical, real-world approach to the lectures and exercises. There will be no exam, but a final written project is required. Grading will be based upon class participation, attendance, and the final paper. Please note: Students may only miss two classes per semester, additional absences will be reflected in a lower grade.

This course is designed to familiarize you with the abundance of topics and legal issues within the field of animal law. In addition to relevant statutes and case law, we will examine the extent to which jurisprudence, legal systems, litigation, legislation, and societal values impact how practitioners, lawmakers, the judiciary, law students, legal scholars, and lay people perceive animals. In doing so, this course will not only facilitate learning substantive law in the field, but also help you understand the framework of claims and assumptions (both explicit and implicit) against which animal law legislation, litigation, and decisions are made.

Textbooks:

Bruce A. Wagman, Sonia S. Waisman, & Pamela D. Frasch, Animal Law: Cases and Materials (6th ed. 2019).        

AND        

Yong, Ed, An Immense World. Random House, 2023.    

This dynamic, practical class will help set students up for long-term success in private practice and position them for leadership opportunities and community engagement. Billable hours are important, but they don't tell the whole story. We'll delve into the intricacies of billable hours and law firm economics to learn how and why billable hours matter. Then we'll look beyond the clock to explore how you can create a more fulfilling and impactful practice. Through hands-on sessions and select guest speakers, we will cover topics such as professional and business development, leadership opportunities, community engagement and non-profit board service, as well as navigating life and career changes. This class aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to take control of their professional journeys, balancing the demands of billable hours with a holistic, big picture approach to professional growth.

An introduction to the legal rules and principles, as well as some of the economic factors, that pattern the conduct of productive enterprise in the U.S. The principal focus will be upon the large, publicly traded corporation that dominates much of the U.S. business environment - in particular, its financing, its control, and the potentially conflicting interests that the firm must mediate. Legal topics to be covered accordingly include shareholder and executive compensation, basic fiduciary obligations, shareholder voting rights, derivative suits, corporate reorganization and control transactions. We shall also devote some attention to partnerships, closely held corporations and other business forms. No prior background in business law or economics is assumed. Corporations and Business Association, Business Associations, and Business Associations (Enriched) may not be repeated for credit.

This course is an introduction to the basic legal rules governing corporations. The course will focus on publicly held corporations. Among the topics covered will be fiduciary duties, conflict-of-interest transactions, reorganizations and control transactions, shareholder voting rights, and shareholder derivative suits. Issues relating to partnerships and securities law may also be reviewed. Corporations and Business Association, Business Associations, and Business Associations (Enriched) may not be repeated for credit.

This is an enriched, five-unit version of the basic introductory and survey course in the corporations/business organizations area; there are no prerequisites whatsoever. This course considers issues relating to the selection of business form (e.g., partnership, limited partnership, corporation, and limited liability partnership), as well as the formation, financing, operation, and control of business organizations. Primary emphasis is placed on conducting business in the corporate form. The course examines corporate governance and other matters associated with both closely held corporations and publicly held corporations. Corporate governance stems from the interplay of market forces and the legal landscape; the latter stems in part from a mix of common law principles, state and federal statutes, and Securities and Exchange Commission rules, and shareholder litigation. Certain litigation, market, regulatory, and transactional issues covered in this Business Associations (Enriched) course are not covered in either Business Associations or Corporations. This course also has a greater focus on publicly-held corporations and modern corporate and financial developments. This enriched course does NOT require any prior business-related undergraduate coursework or any work experience in business-related matters. Corporations and Business Association, Business Associations, and Business Associations (Enriched) may not be repeated for credit.

This course will examine some general jurisprudential and moral issues related to the American system of capital punishment. The course will focus primarily on the development of the law governing capital punishment in the United States since 1970. Some of the main themes include: the legal structure of the Supreme Court's post-1970 death penalty jurisprudence, the scope of available appellate and post-conviction review in capital cases (particularly federal habeas review), the ubiquitous problems surrounding the representation afforded indigent capital defendants, proportionality limits on the imposition of the death penalty for various offenders (e.g., juveniles and persons with mental retardation), the role of racial discrimination in the administration of the death penalty, and the likely trajectory of the American death penalty. The course will be graded on a letter-grade basis for all students. This course will satisfy the constitutional law II requirement.

Introduction to the civil adjudicative process, primarily that of the federal courts, including jurisdiction, pleading, dispositive motions, discovery, and trial procedure.

Introduction to the civil adjudicative process, primarily that of the federal courts, including jurisdiction, pleading, dispositive motions, discovery, and trial procedure.

Introduction to the civil adjudicative process, primarily that of the federal courts, including jurisdiction, pleading, dispositive motions, discovery, and trial procedure.

ACTUAL INNOCENCE CLINIC IS A 6-HR. CLINIC. Students screen and investigate claims by inmates that they are actually innocent of the offenses for which they are incarcerated. While investigating cases, students typically interview witnesses, research cases and issues of forensic science, and review trial transcripts and other court documents. The weekly clinic class addresses topics relevant to actual innocence law and procedure. An application is required.

This clinic provides students with the opportunity to assist in the representation of indigent criminal defendants charged with or convicted of capital offenses. Students work under the supervision of attorneys on death penalty cases at the trial, appellate, and post-conviction stages of the legal process. Students perform various tasks that are integral to death penalty representation, including visiting clients on death row; interviewing witnesses and conducting field investigations; drafting motions, appellate briefs, and habeas petitions; and assisting attorneys in the preparation for trials, evidentiary hearings, and appellate arguments. Clinic students are expected to devote an average of 10 hours of work per week to their clinical responsibilities during the semester, though the workload in any given week will vary, depending on the needs of the case to which the student is assigned. Investigative work on some cases may require out-of-town travel. The Clinic meets once a week as a class (two hours) for training and practical skills sessions related to death penalty representation. Attendance at these sessions is mandatory. As a prerequisite to enrolling in the Clinic, students are required to take concurrently, or to have taken previously, the Capital Punishment course (Law 278R / 378R). First-semester second-year students are welcome to enroll in both the Clinic and the Capital Punishment course, which takes as its subject the substantive and procedural law governing death penalty trials and appeals. A background in Texas and federal constitutional criminal procedure is also extremely helpful, but not required, to enroll in the Clinic. Grading is pass/fail. There is no paper or examination. An application is required.

Students in the Children's Rights Clinic represent allegedly abused or neglected children in Travis County as their attorney ad litem. The cases are brought by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). The state may intervene in a family in a variety of ways, including seeking temporary or permanent custody of a child or termination of parental rights and adoption. Two very experienced attorneys, Clinical Professors Lori Duke and Leslie Strauch, supervise the representation of clients by the student attorney. The supervising attorneys sign pleadings drafted by the students and accompany them at every court hearing, deposition, and trial on the merits. However, within a week or two, a student can expect to "sit first chair" at hearings, and also is expected to research and prepare the case. Each student attorney will be assigned a mix of newly filed cases and other cases in various stages of development. If the case goes to final hearing, student participation in the trial will vary from partial to extensive. Each student will have multiple opportunities to appear in court during the semester. Some students will have the opportunity to participate in a bench trial. Occasionally students will participate in a jury trial. Students are likely to participate in mediation. In representing clients, students meet with a wide variety of persons, including medical and mental health professionals, teachers, foster parents, caseworkers and social workers, attorneys, layperson CASA volunteers who may serve as guardians, and police officers. Court is generally Tuesday morning. The class meets once a week to focus on substantive law, procedure, and ethics, as well as child welfare policy. In addition to the classroom component, each student should expect to average about 12-15 hours per week on clinic work. The weekly workload varies. Students are required to visit their child clients. Sometimes these client visits require travel outside of Travis County (with travel reimbursed). There are no prerequisites for the course. Students, however, must meet Texas requirements for the participation of qualified law students in the trial of cases under rules promulgated by the Texas Supreme Court. The course is pass/fail. There is no paper or final exam. The course counts toward the ABA Experiential Learning Requirement. An application is required.

Students in the Civil Rights Clinic represent clients in civil rights matters. Such matters include police misconduct, jail mistreatment, housing justice, unlawful immigration detention, worker’s rights, and disability discrimination. Students work on cases and law reform advocacy projects with co-counsel from civil rights organizations and attorneys across the country, under the supervision of clinic faculty. Through clinic work, students hone lawyering skills, including fact investigation, drafting pleadings, discovery and depositions, legal research and writing, case development and selection, and client or witness interviewing. Students work on cases in teams, meeting with supervising clinic faculty on at least a weekly basis. Students also participate in a classroom seminar, in which students learn relevant substantive and procedural law, discuss the political and social contexts of civil rights cases, and think through how to resolve legal problems effectively and ethically. The seminar meets twice a week for a total of three hours. The supervising Clinic faculty member is Clinical Professor Lia Sifuentes Davis. The clinic is offered in the fall and spring, for six (6) credits, pass/ fail. The Clinic is open to students who have completed their first two semesters. Students should expect to devote an average of 10-12 hours per week for casework and seminar preparation. For more information, see https://law.utexas.edu/clinics/civil-rights/. An application is required.

Students, working pursuant to the clinical practice rule and under the supervision of CDC faculty, represent people charged with misdemeanors in Travis County. Students function as lead counsel, working directly with clients to identify goals for the representation and to develop strategies in an effort to achieve the best possible outcome. Students maintain a primary role at all court appearances, whether those appearances involve negotiations, discussions with a judge, evidentiary hearings, or trial. Depending on the stage of assigned cases, other responsibilities often include investigation, discovery practice, and drafting of motions. Students may not be enrolled in another clinic while they are enrolled in the Criminal Defense Clinic. An application is required. Mandatory extra class session on

What is the DRC? 

Students in the Disability Rights Clinic (DRC) represent clients with disabilities in a variety of legal contexts.  In the fall semester of 2023, students will represent low-income parents of children with disabilities in cases brought against school districts that have violated state and federal special education and anti-discrimination laws. 

What kind of experience will I gain? 

DRC students draft civil complaints, develop expert testimony, mediate their cases, and try them when necessary.  Students work in teams on one to three cases, depending on their areas of interest, client need, and capacity. 

Will I work to resolve disputes?

Significant focus and attention is given to ADR in DRC. Students serve as lead student counsellors in formal mediation of their complaints before mediators on contract with the Texas Education Agency.  Through this model, students develop skills common to both litigation (drafting, discovery, witness prep) and transactional (negotiation, line-editing, creative problem-solving) practices.

Will I have much client contact? 

Yes!  Students practice the skills involved in building trust with their child clients and families through regular counselling by phone, zoom, and sometimes through in-person home visits. The DRC emphasizes the art of making the law accessible to nonlawyer parents and, where possible, their children.  

How does DRC get its clients?

Families needing DRC legal services are selected primarily through a medical-legal partnership with the Dell Children’s Medical Group and other state-wide partners.  Many of the children served live in under-resourced rural communities, and a majority are young children of color.  Some children are in foster care or have experienced housing instability, and a large number have been identified as having autism.

What kinds of situations do DRC clients confront?

DRC students have worked on cases in which educators have physically abused or neglected children with disabilities, put into segregated and locked education settings kids whose conduct was driven by unmet disability-related need, and failed to therapies and other critical related services necessary for kids' inclusion in school. Many of our cases have involved kids whose behavior has become challenging because of the lack of appropriate services, and some have involved contested hearings in the suspension and expulsion contexts.  

What are the course requirements?

The Disability Rights Clinic meets once per week for two hours. Grading is on a pass/fail basis for this four-credit hour clinic. There is no final exam or paper. Students should expect to spend 10-15 hours per week on clinic work, including class time. 

Roughly one-third of class time is devoted to understanding and discussing substantive education law and how it plays out "on the ground" in Texas school districts.  Additional class sessions are used to teach and practice specific skills involved in identifying and analyzing the strength and weakness of legal claims, drafting, working with experts, negotiating, conducting formal mediation, and putting on witnesses at hearing.  Each week, students deepen their understanding of special education law practice by presenting their case developments and giving feedback through case rounds.   

Students are encouraged to apply for the Clinic early as enrollment is limited and faculty permission is required to register. Students should submit an electronic application by the end of the application window. For more information, contact Professor Lucy Wood at lwood@law.utexas.edu or at (512) 626-2060.

Taught by Professor Lucy Wood 4 credits (pass/fail) — offered Fall and Spring The clinic is open to students who have completed their first two semesters.

Who should take this clinic?

Students who want to gain experience in litigation and/or mediation, and those who would like to go on to represent children or people with disabilities in either a pro bono or public interest practice, should consider this clinic.  DRC partners with it several of its graduates in Big Law to broaden its reach. Graduates of DRC have worked in large law firms supporting special education work as a pro bono focus, in mid-size firm practice representing school districts, as lawyers in nonprofit settings representing persons with disabilities, in juvenile and criminal defense work, and in governmental entities requiring expertise in education or disability law.  

 An application is required.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CLINIC IS A 6-HR. CLINIC.  Grading is Pass/Fail.  The clinical component of this course will involve student representation of domestic violence survivors in a myriad of legal problems, including custody, divorce, visitation, housing, protective orders, parole advocacy and occasionally in consumer and public assistance matters. Students will also perform parole advocacy on behalf of survivors of domestic violence who are in prison due to their victimization as well as litigate in Travis County courts. Law students work alongside social work intern partners from the Steve Hicks School of Social Work to provide clients with holistic services for better outcomes.

The class sessions will cover the matters relevant in civil domestic violence cases: safety planning, comprehensive intake, case analysis and handling, investigation, negotiation, trial preparation, discovery, and temporary and permanent orders, including protective orders.   

In addition to regular class time, there are five additional mandatory time commitments for participation in the Domestic Violence Clinic:

1. Mandatory extra class session on Saturday, August 30, 2025 from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM. You may not participate in the Clinic if you do not attend the extra class. 
2. A one-hour weekly meeting with the supervising attorney.
3. You will be scheduled for 4 hours per week office hours/phone duty at the Clinic.
4. You will be expected to document an average of eleven hours per week on your cases towards the hours required for clinic credit.
5. This is a litigation clinic, and you will be first chairing your cases. Court appearances may require that you miss class.

Due to these requirements, you may not take another clinic or internship at the same time that you take the Domestic Violence Clinic.  

Prerequisites: Students enrolling should not be on scholastic probation. An application is required.

Taught in the Fall by Frances Leos Martinez, Clinic Director and Miriam Khalifa, Clinical Professor. The Clinic is open to students who have completed their first two semesters. 6 credits (pass/fail) — offered in the Fall and Spring. The Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic provides students with a unique opportunity to develop business law and problem-solving skills while representing clients operating community enterprises -- small businesses, entrepreneurs, creatives, nonprofit organizations, and community groups. Students learn how to represent their clients on a broad variety of transactional business law matters. Typical legal matters include: assisting businesses with choice of entity decisions forming for-profit and nonprofit entities applying to the IRS for tax-exempt status drafting and negotiating contracts providing legal advice to nonprofit boards of directors and staff drafting lending and real estate documents assisting with intellectual property matters assisting with personnel policies Clinic students learn how to represent their clients through clinic classes, in-person teamwork, weekly team meetings with their clinic supervisor, and research and initiative on their cases. The Clinic classes emphasize the applicable substantive law; the larger social and theoretical context of the Clinic’s work; and the development of practical lawyering skills including interviewing, counseling, negotiating, contract drafting, and public speaking. The Clinic class meets on Monday afternoons 2:30-4:30 pm. Three classes will run to 5:30 pm. There is a mandatory orientation class on the first Friday of the semester, from 1:00-4:30 pm. In addition to class, students are required to keep a weekly schedule of 8 in-clinic office hours, over the course of three days from Monday through Friday, between 8:00 am-5:00 pm. The Clinic is a significant time commitment. Students are expected to devote an average of 16-19 hours a week to the Clinic, including class time and clinic case work. Attendance is required at the orientation and all classes and case rounds. Students should also note that teamwork is a key component of clinic case work. Students will be assigned to a team partner with whom they will work during the semester. Clinic casework is conducted in teams and students will be assigned to the same team for the semester. Enrollment is by application only. Students are encouraged to apply for the Clinic during the priority deadline as the Clinic fills up quickly. Students may request to be placed on a waiting list if space is unavailable during registration. Grading is on a pass/fail basis for this six-credit hour clinic. There are no prerequisites for this clinic, although a background in business law (such as business associations, real estate, or tax law) will come in handy. An application is required. For additional information, you may contact the Clinic Director Frances Leos Martinez (fmartinez@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-1222), or the Clinic Program Coordinator (ecdc@law.utexas.edu).

ENVIRONMENTAL CLINIC – 6 credits, pass/fail (application required) Students in the Environmental Clinic work with clients, including underserved communities throughout Texas, to advocate for reduced pollution, cleanup of existing pollution, access to infrastructure (such as clean drinking water), and climate change adaptation. Students work on cases in teams, under the supervision of clinic faculty, and should expect to spend approximately 12 hours per week working on clinic cases. Clinic students have worked on civil rights complaints, environmental enforcement actions in federal court, ensuring access to clean drinking water, permitting and rulemaking proceedings before administrative agencies, community education, pollution monitoring, and environmental policy research. Students gain practical experience with factual investigation and analysis, administrative research and advocacy before regulatory agencies, and legal drafting and litigation support. The weekly two-hour seminar's topics include representing environmental clients, navigating administrative law and agencies, and the efficacy of current laws for protecting health and the environment. The Clinic is open to students who have completed their first two semesters. There is no prerequisite for the clinic. An application is required. For additional information regarding the clinic, contact Clinic Director Kelly Haragan (kharagan@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-2654) or Clinic Administrator Rita Stramel (environmentalclinic@law.utexas.edu).

Students in the Housing Policy Clinic work on cutting-edge policy projects aimed at advancing low-income individuals’ access to affordable, just, and secure housing.

The Housing Policy Clinic offers law students:

• In-depth engagement with the housing policy and law reform landscape
• Opportunities to develop public policy solutions and legal reforms addressing the nation’s most pressing housing challenges
• Development of a broad range of lawyering skills, including creative problem-solving, law and policy analysis, interviewing and counseling, and oral and written advocacy

HPC students work in teams of two to three students on one to two policy projects, working closely with the clinic faculty, clients, and other stakeholders, including housing advocacy organizations, government officials, and community organizations. Students complete a number of written deliverables for their clients, such as policy briefs, research reports, know-your-rights materials, model laws, and regulatory guidance. Students also have the opportunity to refine their oral advocacy skills, including through delivering testimony to legislative and regulatory bodies.

Classroom

In the classroom, HPC students engage in discussions on current and emerging housing law and policy issues, hear from guest speakers actively working in the housing policy space, and participate in hands-on lawyering skills exercises. Class time includes opportunities to work in teams on clinic projects, although students should expect to dedicate additional time outside the classroom to their projects.

Time commitment

HPC students should expect to devote an average of 11 hours a week on their policy projects along with an additional 4-5 hours a week for the clinic seminar and seminar preparation.  

Additional information

This six-credit hour clinic is offered only in the fall semester (although students who have completed the clinic may apply to participate as advanced clinic students for the spring semester). Grading is on a pass/fail basis.

There are no prerequisites for this Clinic, but an application is required. Students are encouraged to apply for the Clinic early, as enrollment is limited.

For more information, please contact Professor Heather Way at hway@law.utexas.edu.

The Human Rights Clinic works to promote and protect human rights in Texas and around the world. Through supervised practice, students learn the responsibilities and skills of human rights lawyering and advocacy. Mirroring the approach of practicing advocates, students work in small project teams, developing lawyering, advocacy and ethical skills and receiving intensive mentoring and feedback. The Human Rights Clinic’s practice spans a wide range of issues, including sexual and reproductive rights; human rights and the environment; U.N. treaty bodies and special procedures; and many more. All the cases and projects involve research, writing, and an opportunity to discuss the strategies used by human rights advocates. The cases and projects provide the students an opportunity to gain practical skills in partnering with other students, institutions, and organizations, thus forming a team of advocates. Finally, all the projects and cases allow a multidisciplinary approach and permit working across disciplines and use the perspectives of different fields to enhance the overall theoretical framework. Routinely the Clinic admits non-Law students. The Clinic employs a variety of lawyering methods that are tailored to the needs of each project. These include: documentation and reporting; international litigation; advocacy. The clinic meets two times per week. Classroom lectures and discussion focus on substantive human rights law, client interviewing, case and project preparation and strategy and review of ongoing cases and projects. In addition to the classroom component, students should expect to spend 15–20 hours per week on clinic work. The weekly workload varies substantially, depending upon the stage of each project or case. Clinic work may include some travel. Preference is given to students who have taken a human rights course or who have other human rights or public interest experience. An application is required.

Students in the Immigration Clinic represent vulnerable low-income immigrants from around the world before the immigration and federal courts and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Students gain hands-on experience by taking on the primary responsibility and decision-making authority for their cases under the mentorship of the Clinic faculty. The Clinic’s caseload varies each semester but focuses on deportation defense and asylum claims, including for detained persons. The Clinic has handled cases for clients from, among other countries, Afghanistan, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Eritrea, Mexico, and Pakistan. The Clinic represents clients of all ages, including unaccompanied children and families. Students also engage in national and international advocacy projects to improve the rights of immigrants in the United States. Through client representation and advocacy as well as the classroom component of the Clinic, students learn substantive immigration law, develop client relationship skills, and practice a variety of legal advocacy skills and techniques. The Clinic allows students to explore different models for effective and collaborative lawyering, including interdisciplinary practice with social work student interns and expert witnesses from medical, social science, and mental health backgrounds. Immigration Clinic students work on their cases collaboratively in teams. The Immigration Clinic meets for class two times per week for an hour and a half. As an orientation, the first two classes of the semester are extended (an additional hour), and an extra session is held on Wednesday evening during the first week of classes (1.5 hours). Grading is on a pass/fail basis for this six-credit hour clinic. There is no final exam or paper; instead, students receive feedback throughout the semester from faculty and peers and conduct a self-evaluation at the end of the semester that is discussed with faculty. Students should expect to spend approximately 20 hours per week on Clinic work, including class time and office hours in the Clinic suite. Work on cases and projects may be required over breaks (Thanksgiving or Spring Break). Participation in the Clinic is generally not compatible with participation in moot court or other competitions that require travel during the semester, and personal travel may need to be limited in light of case and project obligations. Students will occasionally travel to area immigration detention facilities and to San Antonio where the Immigration Court and DHS offices are located, sometimes including early morning departures and unavoidable absence from other classes. An application is required, and students are encouraged to apply for the Clinic during the early registration window as enrollment is limited. For more information about the Immigration Clinic, contact Denise Gilman (dgilman@law.utexas.edu) or Elissa Steglich (esteglich@law.utexas.edu).

Students in the Law & Religion Clinic represent vulnerable individuals and groups of all faiths who face challenges to their religious liberty. This will involve a diverse array of clients, including, among others: prisoners, mosques, students, employees, churches, teachers, faith-based schools, sanctuary churches, synagogues, and immigrants. Students can expect to work on cases involving the Free Exercise Clause, the Establishment Clause, similar state constitutional provisions, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, its state equivalents, antidiscrimination statutes, Title VII, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Under the direction of clinic faculty, students will have the opportunity to be first chair on some matters or serve as co-counsel with various civil rights organizations and law firms on others. Through that work, they will develop lawyering skills they can apply in nearly any type of legal practice they pursue, including analyzing potential cases, client interviewing, fact investigation, representing and advising organizations, negotiation, drafting pleadings, dealing with opposing counsel, discovery and depositions, trial advocacy, and appellate work. Students will work on cases in teams and will meet with Professors Greil and Collis as a group multiple times a week: to discuss their cases and in a classroom seminar where they will learn the substance and complexities of religion law (this will include some readings from a packet of key material). They will also have one-on-one sessions with the Professors to discuss how their lawyering skills are progressing and to counsel on other issues. The Clinic encourages students from all backgrounds, ideologies, religions, and beliefs to join. The clinic is offered in the fall and spring, for six (6) credits, pass/fail. The Clinic is open to students who have completed their first two semesters. You can find a broader description of the clinic and the Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center at https://law.utexas.edu/first-amendment-center/. There are no prerequisites for this clinic. An application is required.

The TRANSNATIONAL WORKER RIGHTS CLINIC IS A 6-HR. CLINIC. Students in this clinic will represent low-income transnational migrant workers, who labor in Texas, in legal actions to recover unpaid wages for work they have performed, to combat workplace discrimination, and to enforce other basic employment rights. Students may also engage in related advocacy projects asserting the rights of low-wage workers – especially their right to access the U.S. justice system to fully enforce their employment rights, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. The clinic gives students hands-on experience with civil litigation, basic employment law, public interest practice, and the evolving fields of immigrant employment rights and transnational migrant worker rights. The clinic seeks to enforce and understand employment rights of transnational workers working in Texas as an example of advocacy for the labor and human rights of immigrants and low-wage working people around the globe. Clinic students will serve as primary legal counsel representing immigrant and low-wage working people in federal and state employment litigation and administrative actions. Students will get the experience of working inside an independent public interest law firm and will be supervised and mentored by several of the nation's leading low-wage employment lawyers. Depending on the requirements and the current litigation stage of each case, students will variously: interview and advise clients; investigate cases and develop legal action strategies; initiate and manage active litigation; negotiate with opposing employers and their lawyers; prepare litigation documents in the student's cases including pleadings, motions, and briefs; conduct discovery in the student's cases including written discovery and the taking of depositions; research legal issues; develop damages calculations; represent clients in hearings, court proceedings, and mediation; and negotiate and manage the final legal settlement or recovery of damages in the case. The clinic's legal advocacy is based on a community-lawyering model which seeks to accomplish more than just winning individual cases; the clinic also aims to promote systemic reforms that make the justice system more fair for transnational workers and to empower clients with the knowledge, skills, and collective capacity through which they can advance their own employment rights. In addition, the clinic seeks to ground each student's particular casework within the dynamic, emerging field of transnational labor rights advocacy. Bill Beardall, the clinic director, is a graduate of Harvard Law School, the Executive Director of the Equal Justice Center, the former Director of the Migrant Worker Division of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, and a nationally recognized expert on low-wage employment rights. He has more than four decades of experience representing migrant workers and mentoring young employment litigation lawyers. The TWR Clinic is conducted in partnership with the Equal Justice Center (EJC), a non-profit public-interest law firm, based in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. The EJC is the leading law firm in Texas specialized in advocating for the rights of low-wage workers. Clinic students get the opportunity to work closely with a variety of EJC lawyers, who are among Texas' leading employment attorneys. In this clinic, students devote the bulk of their clinic hours each week to handling active cases for real clients. This case work includes regularly scheduled office hours at the nearby Equal Justice Center office; regularly scheduled remote office hours in the EJC's robust remote law practice during periods of pandemic shutdown; regular case reviews with supervising attorneys; and essential conferences with clients. During the first week of the course, before starting their casework assignments, students will receive an intensive classroom orientation on low-wage employment litigation practice. Normally the law practice of this clinic occurs off-campus in the law offices of the Equal Justice Center. However, like many law offices, the EJC has been largely closed to in-person staff and public operations, since spring 2020, due to the pandemic. Nevertheless the EJC law practice and the TWR Clinic law practice have been gradually and deliberately reopening to in-person operations by appointment and by modified office hours. Equally important, the EJC learned from the pandemic how to operate dynamically and successfully as a cyber-practice utilizing innovative electronic law practice methods. Moreover, most other law offices and the entire civil justice system are undergoing a similar transformation. Reflecting this broader transformation across the profession, the EJC and TWR Clinic currently operate as a hybrid in-person/remote law practice, which continues to evolve along with the norms in civil justice system. One salutary effect of the EJC's adaptation to cyber law practice methods has been that TWR Clinic law students are getting an opportunity to learn - along with the rest of the legal profession - the new art of hybrid in-person/remote law practice and litigation. Thus, while the 2023 spring semester clinic law practice is expected to be conducted largely in-person, it has become clear that the judicial system and legal profession are permanently adopting many new and more efficient, remote electronic operations and methods. These remote law practice methods will put to full and effective use by the EJC and the TWR Clinic, giving clinic students an opportunity to learn these pioneering remote electronic techniques and systems. As a result, TWR Clinic students will gain experience preparing them to take their place among the first generation of lawyers adeptly utilizing a new range of remote cyber-law-practice methods. Throughout the semester, the students' principal casework will be complemented with a regular classroom session that meets once a week for approximately two hours. The classroom sessions will explore various deeper aspects of employment law, rights of immigrant workers, effective litigation practice, and special topics in employment law practice for immigrant and low-wage workers. Classroom instruction will address the challenges of adapting U.S. law and legal practice to our increasingly transnational labor market. Subtopics include: U.S. labor and immigration policy; wage laws, employment laws, and contract law as they affect transnational workers; the tension between immigration laws and labor rights; rights of transnational "guest workers"; civil litigation and representation skills specific to transnational worker cases; employment law practice as viewed from the perspective of lawyers for employee-plaintiffs, lawyers for employer-defendants, and employment lawyers representing government agencies; ethical issues in employment rights representation; and evolving mechanisms for the enforcement of worker rights, regardless of immigration status. The clinic is open to students who have completed the first year of law school. While there are no prerequisites, students will benefit from previous course work or experience relating to contract law, civil procedure, labor and employment law, immigration law, international law, human rights law, low-wage working people, migrant workers or immigrant communities, and experience related to Latin American communities. While Clinic clients include U.S. citizens and immigrants from a wide array of continents and countries, a majority of clients are Spanish-speakers from a variety of Latin American countries. Spanish proficiency accordingly is very useful, but is not in any way required. Questions about the clinic may be directed to Bill Beardall at bbeardall@law.utexas.edu. Please put "Worker Rights Clinic" in the subject line of any communication.

Commercial Leasing: A practical perspective. Whether you are a lawyer in a private law firm, in house counsel for a hospital, or a business owner operating a restaurant, you will likely come across a commercial lease at some point in your career. This practicum will guide students through real examples of lease negotiations, litigation strategies, and risk mitigation techniques. Students will review case law, learn how to analyze and draft lease provisions, discuss evolving real estate use in various market scenarios, and how to think outside of the box to complete the transaction. We will use recent developments in case law to develop a working checklist when analyzing a commercial lease. Textbook: Commercial Leasing: A Transaction Primer, Third Edition

Conflict of Laws addresses issues that may arise when a dispute or transaction has connections with more than one state or country. The subject is generally divided into three interrelated topics: (1) territorial jurisdiction (and related doctrines), (2) choice of law, and (3) recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. This course focuses exclusively on choice of law. Most of the course focuses on the sources from which state courts draw in choosing the applicable law. But the course also covers (1) constitutional limits on state choice of law, (2) the rules governing the choice of state law in federal court, and (3) the principles that determine whether and when a federal statute may be given extraterritorial effect. By the end of the course, students should have developed a sound understanding of the methodologies that influence choice of law in the United States and the policy considerations that will shape further development of the law in this area. The first and third topics in Conflict of Laws are covered in a separate course entitled “Jurisdiction & Judgments” that is scheduled to be taught in the spring.

The course will focus on constitutional interpretation involving the Religion Clauses, the Expression Clauses, and the Right to Bear Arms. Both interpretive and substantive issues will be addressed to question what the scope of each constitutional provision should be and whether that scope should be interrelated with the scope of other provisions. Specific topics will include: gun control, dollars to religion, school, prayer, criminal advocacy, pornography, hate speech, and new communications technologies.

This course will cover the history and the judicial interpretation of the First Amendment's free speech clause. Coverage of modern judicial interpretation will be topical rather than chronological. Subjects will include subversive advocacy, prior restraints, tort law and the First Amendment, offensive speech, symbolic dissent, freedom not to speak, the government as employer, the government's management of public property, access to the mass media, campaign finance, obscenity, and commercial speech. Readings, particularly for the historical portion of the course, will consist of secondary sources as well as legal decisions. NO PREREQUISITES.

This course will introduce the three structural principles of the Constitution - federalism, checks and balances, and the separation of powers - as well as the individual rights the Constitution protects.

The course is an examination of the Consitution as a document of law, political theory, and politics. Focus is primarily on federalism, separation of powers, and some aspects of due process and equal protection. Much effort is put into helping students learn how to think about constitutional law as future lawyers and as citizens. It is taught largely with by the Socratic Method.

We will be studying Constitutional Law together at an extraordinary and difficult moment. Our constitutional arrangements have been put under considerable stress, and little seems happily settled. We will have just emerged from a difficult election, and our national electoral arrangements are creaky at best and democratically questionable at worst. The Supreme Court, which will be the object of much of our attention, is itself shrouded in controversy, with the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg followed by a politically-fraught appointment to the Court and questions of court-packing hanging in the air. The reasons we have a Constitution, how we should interpret the Constitution, and how it can be amended are suddenly especially prominent issues. Dusty questions of federalism and separation of powers are now vividly and concretely important, with some state governments and the President at war over immigration, the environment, and social justice, on the one hand, and Congress and the President at odds on the other. In the domain of social justice, controversy over the meaning of equality is far from new, but so too is it far from settled. Affirmative action, abortion and same sex intimacy and marriage are all objects of recent or current sharp contention. Our project will be to consider and try to understand the role of the Constitution, the courts and our political community in addressing the questions that presently swirl around us. I do not expect or hope that we will all agree. I do hope that we will all deepen our understanding of how best to think about these matters, and I will insist that our conversations be conducted in an environment of mutual respect. I said at the outset that this is an extraordinary and difficult moment to study constitutional law.. It is also an exciting moment to do so, and I am looking forward to seeing you all. --Larry Sager

Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.

Distribution of powers between federal and state governments; constitutional limitations on and judicial review of governmental action.

This course will analyze theories of liability and defenses in the area of construction dispute resolution, with particular emphasis on Texas law. It involves participation in several case studies, which will include extensive discussion of the practical aspects of resolving construction disputes through litigation and arbitration. The class participants will study case materials involving property damage, personal injury, and claims for delay and payment. The semester will conclude with a mediation exercise with one of the leading construction mediators in Texas. The teaching goal is to furnish students with the basic tools to evaluate and handle a variety of construction-related disputes.

This course examines a range of contemporary issues in policing, prosecution, and punishment through the lens of a series of documentary films and related short reading assignments.  Through class discussion and exchange of short response papers to the films, students will explore and critically examine a range of issues and controversies in the American criminal justice system, including the expansion in the role and powers of the police resulting from the War on Drugs; the use of racial profiling, no-knock warrants, and other policing practices; officer-involved shootings and the doctrine of qualified immunity; the "school-to-prison pipeline; sex offender registries; the prosecution of juveniles in criminal court; and long-term solitary confinement, among other issues. Students will discuss and explore the feasibility of alternative approaches to these practices and examine the legal, political, and practical obstacles to reform.

An introduction to the law governing contracts and the methods by which rights and duties of promissory and quasi-promissory origin are created, transferred, limited, discharged, breached, and enforced.

Methods by which rights and duties of promissory and quasi-promissory origin are created, transferred, limited, discharged, breached, and enforced.

An introductory course on the law of contracts. This course takes up basic questions about the common law principles governing the formation, interpretation, performance, and enforcement of contracts, as well as the basic remedies for their breach.

The first objective of the course will be to help prepare future corporate and non-profit Directors to fulfill their fiduciary duties of care and loyalty to the organizations that they will serve. We will do this by examining a wide variety of issues that Directors must deal with on a regular basis. These include balancing efforts between establishing quarterly and yearly performance targets and building strong companies that can sustain above-market financial performance in the future. Directors must also manage business and political relationships, initiate and integrate acquisitions, create/change corporate culture, continually align the organization structure to the business strategy, allocate resources for a variety of corporate initiatives, deal with issues of corporate governance, succession planning, executive compensation, and learn to navigate through potential public relations disasters. We will examine as many of these topics as time permits.

The second objective of this course will be to understand the nature and scope of corporate Boards from the perspective of society, social and economic interest and what can be done to prevent some of the more publicized corporate governance failures. We will examine several of the more highly publicized corporate failures as well as what action Congress has taken to address corporate malfeasance, and the recommendations that have been made by social critics. The course is directed primarily at graduate business students and law students who expect to serve either as advisors to Boards of Directors or on Boards of Directors of public companies or non-profit organizations. While most of the course will focus on established public companies, much of the course content will be useful to those individuals who are primarily interested in entrepreneurial organizations, family corporations, or public sector non-profit entities. This course will have three distinct instructional formats. Professor Cunningham will lecture to the class to help provide all of the students with a fundamental knowledge of how Boards of Directors function in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. He will also focus on the different roles the Boards play in both large and small organizations.

The third format of the class will be to invite guest speakers to address the students who are involved in a wide variety of real world governance issues. The guests will be encouraged to provide ample opportunity for questions during their presentations. The individuals that will be invited to speak to the class will include a mix of entrepreneurs, senior executives from major corporations, directors of public and private entities, politicians, leaders of non-profit entities, corporate lawyers and partners of major accounting firms.

Learning Outcomes

Eleven of the key learning outcomes that we will focus on in class are listed below. 

1. The role of corporate boards in a capitalistic economy.
2. The duties of corporate directors.
3. The relationship between the corporation and the board.
4. Effective structure of corporate boards.
5. The importance of legal constraints on director’s actions.
6. The design of an impact of constructive corporate culture.
7. Identification of the macro environmental factors.
8. The creation of the succession process for management and the board.
9. Management of corporate crises.
10. The structure and compensation program for executives and directors.
11. The role of activist investors.

Optional Lunch on Wednesday, October 16 at Noon

There will be an optional lunch with Doris Kearns Goodwin.  Dr. Goodwin worked in the Johnson administration and assisted President Johnson in writing his best-selling memoir Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream.  She was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her book No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II.  She also earned the Lincoln Prize for her book Team of Rivals and the Carnegie Medal for her book The Bully Pulpit.  Invitations to the lunch will be sent closer to the date. 

The course examines the taxation of corporations and their shareholders. Basic concepts of taxable income from the Federal Income Tax course are assumed to be already known by enrolled students, including basis, determination of gain and loss, capital gains and losses, and the treatment of nonrecognition transactions. Representative topics covered include entity classification as well as the tax treatment of the formation of a corporation, distributions to shareholders (including stock redemptions and partial liquidations), complete liquidations of corporations, taxable asset and stock acquisitions of corporations, and corporate reorganizations. Prereq: Law 293Q, 393Q, or 493Q (Federal Income Taxation).

Promulgation, interpretation, and administration of substantive laws of crime; constitutional limitations and relevant philosophical, sociological, and behavioral science materials.

This is a course about substantive criminal law. We will be discussing what conduct should and should not be considered a crime as well as how we define various crimes. We will spend considerable time reading and learning how to interpret statutes.

This course addresses the constitutional limits on police investigations. It focuses primarily on the Fourth Amendment law governing searches and seizures, as well as on the constraints that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments impose on police questioning. Topics include the meaning of the terms “search” and “seizure” (especially in an era of electronic surveillance); the warrant requirement and its many exceptions; the rules governing stop-and-frisk and police use of force; the rules governing police interrogations (including the rights to remain silent or to have a lawyer present); and the available legal remedies for constitutional violations. The course will be graded on a letter-grade basis for all students and will satisfy the constitutional law II requirement. Grades will be based upon an open-book, in-class final exam.

This course focuses on the intersection between criminal and immigration law, providing both theoretical and practical understanding of the impact of criminal conduct on immigration status. We will explore specific grounds of deportation and inadmissibility related to criminal conduct and the impact of criminal history on relief available under immigraiton law. We will analyze the laws, policies and constitutionality of immigration enforcement including mandatory detention resulting from interaction with the criminal legal system. In addition, we will consider recent federal and local policies regarding policing noncitizens and their effectiveness and impact on the immigrant and broader community. Outside speakers will be invited. Faculty approval is required to enroll in the class-- see prerequisite above. Grading is pass/fail based on attendance, participation and completion of required reflection memos and other assignments.

In recent years, public education has taken on a significance in the nation’s dominant political discourse not seen in a generation. The truth of this can be seen in the increased attention public education has received in our state and federal courts. This course will explore contemporary case law governing the administration and role of public education in the United States, with a focus on First Amendment rights, the various stakeholders in public schools and the pressure points of conflict that have emerged between them. We will also discuss the future of public education and the various options for future education law policy in a field where every day might present a new Constitutional question.

This course is a deep dive into a broad range of legal and policy issues associated with cybersecurity. It is intended as a comprehensive introduction to the nature and functions of the various government and private-sector actors associated with cybersecurity in the United States, the policy goals they pursue, the issues and challenges they face, and the legal environment in which all of this takes place. The course is the cornerstone of the Strauss Center's "Integrated Cybersecurity Studies" program, which is a Hewlett Foundation-funded project to increase interdisciplinary education relating to cybersecurity. Anyone interested in the course might also be interested in the Center's "Cyber Fellows" program, which you can explore here. The course also counts as the cornerstone for the LLM program's cybersecurity concentration, as well as for a planned graduate portfolio in cybersecurity studies. No technical background is required or assumed. Graduate students from across the campus are encouraged to enroll, too, as you do not have to have prior legal or policy knowledge. In recent years, the class has drawn a substantial number of law students and LBJ students, as well as cohorts from computer science, engineering, the iSchool, and McCombs. To get a full sense of the course, check out the free course eBook, which Prof. Chesney wrote specifically for the course. You can find it here (an updated version will be available before the course begins). These materials have been shared and adopted widely around the nation.

This course will examine the correct (useful) way to define the concept "the impact of a choice on economic efficiency," the economically-efficient approach to take to predicting or postdicting the economic efficiency of any private or governmental choice, the relevance of the economic efficiency of a choice to its justness or moral desirability (rights-considerations aside), and the relevance of the economic efficiency of an interpretation or application of the law to its correctness as a matter of law. The course will also criticize canonical writings that articulate or manifest conclusions on these matters that differ from the Lecturer's. Although several weeks of the course will be devoted to the definitional and relevance issues, the majority of the course will address the economically efficient way to predict or postdict the economic efficiency of a choice in an economy that inevitably contains large numbers of Pareto imperfections of all types and uses resources in a large number of ways. More specifically, the course will consider in detail the negative implications of The General Theory of Second Best for the way in which economists approach economic-efficiency analysis and develop and apply a so-called distortion-analysis approach to economic-efficiency analysis that the Lecturer believes responds defensibly to the interconnections whose importance Second-Best Theory highlights. No background in economics, moral philosophy, or jurisprudence will be presupposed, though students without such backgrounds will have to work harder in the sections of the course to which these fields are relevant. There will be a mid-term as well as a final examination.

This course explores emerging issues in sexuality, gender identity, and the law. We will study and discuss the constitutional, statutory and common law that impacts the lived experience of LGBTQ+ people and people living at the intersection of LGBTQ+ identities, including people who are living with a disability, people who identify as BIPOC, and undocumented/under-documented immigrants.  We will also discuss how civil rights organizations are using impact litigation, public policy and education to ensure equality and access to equal opportunities for LGBTQ+ people in society.  The course will conclude with a mock litigation exercise.

This interdisciplinary course will introduce students to the legal, business, and technical facets of energy development and entrepreneurship. The course is structured around five potential development sites—two wind development projects (a coastal and a north Texas site), a west Texas solar project, and two natural gas combined-cycle plants (a new combined heat and power plant in Houston and a conventional plant in San Antonio). The key stages of project development will be covered, including site selection, life cycle analysis, due diligence, permitting, contracting, and financing. The case studies are designed (1) to provide real-world conditions for understanding project development, (2) to allow students to engage in practical problem solving, and (3) to enable government policies to be evaluated in context. Course work will be complemented by regular discussions with leading experts in the utility and renewable-energy sectors. Students will work in interdisciplinary teams of graduate students from law and business to develop a project proposal based on a mix of renewables and natural gas generation. In addition to short exercises during the semester (e.g., permitting negotiations, financial modeling), each student team will prepare a project prospectus and presentation on the business and legal aspects of their project proposal. The course will culminate with each team presenting their proposal to a corporate investment panel, which will be made up of local energy experts. Course evaluation will be based on class participation, a mid-semester project memo, and the final team presentation and project prospectus.

This course will explore the rules and principles governing the proof of facts in the courtroom, with special focus upon the Federal Rules of Evidence. Planned topics include relevance, hearsay, the Confrontation Clause, character evidence, impeachment and rehabilitation of witnesses, the best evidence rule, lay and expert opinion, and objections practice.

This course combines all the traditional knowledge and theory of a traditional evidence class but adds the layer of applying the rules in practice. Students practice arguing evidentiary motions, have weekly application exercises and explore issues of memory, false confessions, digital evidence and the future of evidence and technology. This course is for students who intend to practice civil or criminal litigation and want a deeper understanding of how judges interpret the rules and how lawyers use the rules to their advantage. Students who have taken Evidence may not take Evidence for Litigators.

This course provides an overview of the legal regulation of intimate relationships. Substantial time is devoted to the incidents of divorce (including property division, spousal support, child support, and custody), and the regulation of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. The course will also cover issues related parenthood, alternative reproductive technologies, and same-sex marriage.

Federal Courts is about the role and power of the federal courts in the federal system. This Federal Courts class places special emphasis on the doctrines and policies that shape and limit the power of the federal district courts. Topics include (1) federal question and diversity jurisdiction, (2) the Erie problem, (3) federal common law, (4) justiciability, (5) suits challenging official action, and (6) the law governing the coordination of state and federal court jurisdiction.

Federal Income Taxation (FIT) presents an overview of the federal income tax, mostly as it applies to individuals. The aim of the course is to present the fundamental principles and policies underlying the federal income tax and to convey the style and flavor of tax law thinking. As a survey, FIT will touch on all the major issues, such as what is gross income, what expenditures are deductible, what is the appropriate taxable unit, what is the function of "basis," and what is the appropriate timing of income and deductions. Specific topics that will be covered in reasonable depth include: the definition of gross income, including the specific inclusion and specific exclusion provisions, business and investment expense deductions, the exclusions for gifts, bequests, and recoveries for personal injuries, income attribution, the taxation of the family (including divorce taxation), the tax treatment of loans, capital expenditures, methods of capital recovery, capital gains and losses, tax-free exchanges, and various tax policy issues (including horizontal and vertical equity, economic efficiency, optimal tax theory, the tax expenditure concept, and a comparison of an income tax base with a cash flow consumption tax base). The grade for this course will be based entirely on a final, open book examination. Required Textbooks: (1) Joseph M. Dodge, J. Clifton Fleming, Jr., Francine J. Lipman & Robert J. Peroni, Federal Income Tax: Doctrine, Structure, and Policy (Carolina Academic Press 5th ed. 2019)—ISBN 978-1-5310-1311-0 (2) Federal Income Tax—Code & Regulations—Selected Sections, Robert J. Peroni, Coordinating Editor (Wolters Kluwer/CCH 2025-2026 ed.) OR Selected Federal Taxation Statutes and Regulations, 2026, Daniel J. Lathrope (West Academic 2025) Recommended Textbooks (Optional): (1) Marvin A. Chirelstein & Lawrence Zelenak, Federal Income Taxation (West Academic/Foundation Press) (Concepts and Insights Series) (2) Donald B. Tobin & Samuel A. Donaldson, Principles of Federal Income Taxation (West Academic) (Concise Hornbook Series)

The class is designed for law students of all interests, including those who are undecided and those who are focused on a particular area such as litigation, public interest law, family law, regulatory work, criminal law, or business law. Financial Methods for Lawyers covers time value of money, expected value decision making, and investment in enterprises. It also covers the basic financial statement components: balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements. The class is only available on a pass/fail basis. It is designated as a skills course. Students earn points toward a passing grade through online quizzes, Excel spreadsheet and other exercises, and regular attendance.

This course examines the constitutional and legal framework governing governmental investigations, with a particular focus on congressional investigative powers–both over the private sector, and over the executive branch. Students will explore the separation of powers doctrine as it applies to investigations and the inherent tension it creates between the executive and legislative branches, the scope and limits of congressional oversight, executive privilege, and the investigative authority over private entities. Through analysis of landmark cases, practical applications, and case studies of major congressional investigations, students will gain a sophisticated understanding of this complex, growing, and evolving area of law. Students will be evaluated based on research and writing assignments of modest length, in-class exercises, and class participation.

This is a survey course covering legal issues in health care delivery, health insurance financing, and the responsibilities of health care professionals to patients. Students will be introduced to the legal and policy considerations that have shaped the relationships between providers (physicians and hospitals), payers (public and private), and patients and how different areas of law have developed when applied to the healthcare industry.  We will consider implications of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and ongoing reform efforts for healthcare law and policy. In addition to presenting essential material for those intending to represent health care providers and payers, serve as health care regulators and policymakers, or advocate on behalf of individuals, the course offers students of all backgrounds an introduction to the legal governance of one-sixth of the U.S. economy. 

This is a course in the substantive law regulating immigration to the United States and the regulation of non-citizens in the United States. Topics covered include the constitutional basis for regulating immigration, the roles of federal agencies in immigration adjudication, the immigration and removal (deportation) process, entry, relief from removal, general regulation of non-citizens, the refugee and asylum processes, and new developments. Students should expect to participate in in-class discussions and exercises. The final exam will be open book. LLM students will be required to take the exam; there will be no paper option.

America incarcerates people at a rate higher than most countries in the world and those incarcerated are disproportionately low-income and from communities that have been historically neglected and oppressed. Course materials will examine how the socio-economic and racial disparities in the population of people incarcerated in America reflects this country’s history of poverty, slavery, and segregation. The course will cover several theories about the drivers of mass incarceration and the legal and philosophical foundations of public defense. This course will explore theoretical, philosophical, and practical elements of indigent criminal defense, exploring questions such as: How do criminal justice theory and practice interact? What can an individual lawyer do to further her client's interests within this context? What is the role of the public defender in criminal justice reform? How does a public defender maintain the long view on mass incarceration and socio-economic and racial inequalities in the criminal justice system while advocating for her individual clients? What roles and tools are available, besides line public defense, for future lawyers to fill and utilize in enacting the promise of Gideon? Weekly reading assignments will explore these topics and students will be required to discuss their reflections during class discussions.

This course will survey the four main fields of intellectual property law: copyright law, patent law, trademark law, and the law of trade secrets. In addition to legal doctrines, the course will examine economic and philosophical justifications to allow a better grasp of current law and possibilities for its reform. The course will also explore intellectual property issues raised by recent technological developments, especially in the digital and internet environments.

If you loved Advocacy Survey and want to spend your career in the courtoom (or just want to be as prepared as possible for the occasional times that you will spend in the courtroom), this class is for you. Intensive Litigation Advocacy Skills is designed for the student interested in improving advocacy skills through intensive training exercises and immersion into trial skills. Here, students work all together but are also weekly divided into small groups allowing them to focus on the distinct skills you will need in a future litigation career. The course is almost exclusively experiential (i.e., skills-based), with students receiving constant feedback in a fun, safe environment. The class provides networking and possible employment opportunities with typically more than 20 attorneys and judges who serve as instructors and guests each semester. This class is restricted to 3Ls only. Prerequisites: Advocacy Survey and Evidence.

International arbitration specialist practitioners, experienced in international disputes worldwide, provide students with legal knowledge and practical skills to navigate all aspects of international commercial arbitrations. Those include forum selection, analysis of various nations' arbitration laws, planning and drafting, arbitrator selection and challenges, enforcing arbitration awards. International commercial transactions almost invariably require international arbitration of disputes, so a lawyer who intends to practice across borders should know this area of practice. International arbitration is one area where states have delegated a judicial function to private individuals. Those individuals (arbitrators) enjoy wide discretion, act as judge and jury, and render globally portable awards that national courts review (for the most part) deferentially. Understanding that delegation, which can differ from country to country, allows students to appreciate what can, and should, be left to private ordering of disputes. The course will address the major topics in international arbitration: its contractual nature; the “who (court or arbitrator) decides” question; choice of law; arbitrator selection; the role of international treaties; and review and enforcement of arbitration agreements and awards. Student performance is evaluated on a final exam, but a substantial portion of the final grade depends on class participation.

This is a law school course that prepares students to: (1) understand the core legal frameworks that govern the Internet (whether drafted with or without consideration of the Internet); (2) gain general familiarity with technical concepts such as code, algorithms, open-source and protocols; and (3) provide pragmatic advice to technology clients on key digital legal issues. When possible, Eric will bring in guest speakers and guest lecturers with unique experience and insights to share with the class.

Textbook: Internet Law Cases and Materials (Grimmelmann) - 14th Edition - available at:    https://internetcasebook.com

This course is restricted to upper class students only. Federal Public Defender Internship – APPLICATION REQUIRED. Application and/or instructions on how to apply for this internship can be accessed on the web: http://law.utexas.edu/internships/application-information/federal-public-defender-internship/.

To apply, please e-mail a copy of your cover letter, resume and transcript (unofficial is fine) to Prof. Klein at sklein@law.utexas.edu and Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender Aldredge at horatio_aldredge@fd.org. Students interested in the internship can obtain additional information from Prof. Susan Klein, by visiting her office, TNH 3.207, during her office hours on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Students may also call her at (512) 203-2257, or send her an email. Students may call Prof. Aldredge at (512) 916-5025, or send him an e-mail.

** This course meets the Professional Skills requirement for graduation. **

Course Description:

This internship program offers “for-credit” internship positions with the Austin Federal Public Defender’s Office. Students will assist in the defense of federal criminal cases under the supervision of Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender Horatio R. Aldredge, 504 Lavaca St., Suite 960, Austin, TX 78701-2860. While the internship requires a 10 hour per week commitment, not all those hours must be completed at the Fed. Public Defender’s office - many can be done at school or at home. Students should expect to spend one day per week at the office or in federal court.

Students earn 2 credits (pass/fail) for the fall semester and, if they enroll in the spring, they earn an additional 2 credits (pass/fail) for the spring semester. Students are encouraged to commit to a full academic year of internship study, but one semester applications will be considered. This internship program is not available during either summer session.

Students may wish to enroll in Adv. Fed. Crim. Prosecution and Defense, Federal Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence, but these courses are not required.

The application deadline for the fall 2025 term or the full academic year is Monday, April 7th, 2025. Interviews are conducted at the Career Services Office or via Zoom. Though students will know whether they are admitted before fall registration, the unique registration number for the fall 2025 internship will not be available until April 2025. The application deadline for the spring 2026 semester is Monday, October 6, 2025. Students will know whether they are accepted before early registration.

Additional Information

Information on the Federal Public Defender Office is available at: http://txw.fd.org/austin.

The Judicial Internship Program lasts for one semester and includes a weekly class and a concurrent internship in an approved court placement. Students research complex legal questions and draft memoranda, opinions and orders under the supervision of judges and their staff attorneys and law clerks. Students apply and extend their substantive legal knowledge and further develop their analytical, research, writing, and oral communication skills. Students also observe court proceedings and learn about court procedure and legal advocacy. A fall or spring internship must extend over a period of at least 10 weeks between the first and last class day of the semester. Students work at the internship placement for at least 150 hours. Students who also enroll in the 1 credit Judicial Internship Program Supplement complete an additional 50 hours of work at the internship placement, for a total of at least 200 hours. Within these parameters, each intern arranges a mutually agreeable work schedule with the court. The internship must involve the student and the supervising attorney working in person; regular remote work is not permitted. Students and supervisors are expected to work together at their placement offices. The weekly class covers a variety of topics relevant to the judicial process and working at a court, such as goal setting and reflection, judicial ethics, writing and communicating in chambers, judicial decision-making, statutory construction, and the organization and operation of the courts. Course requirements include reading assignments, class presentations, court observations, short reflective writing assignments, self-assessments, and timesheets. There will be a course packet available for purchase at the start of the semester. In addition to class meetings, students meet individually with the instructor several times during the internship to discuss their goals and review their progress. Application Requirements: An application for approval to register is required. A student may not register until the instructor has approved the application. Before submitting an application to the instructor, a student must first apply for and obtain a judicial internship with an approved court in Austin. The student must be assigned to a specific judge on the court who agrees to participate in the Texas Law program. Approved courts include the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the Texas Third Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court (including the active and senior district court judges and the magistrate judges), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, and the Travis County Probate Court. Many of these courts post internship openings on the Career Services Office's Job Bank on Symplicity. Others post information about internships on the court's website. Apply as soon as possible. Most courts accept applications and select interns for the fall semester during the prior spring semester, some as early as March. A few make their selections closer to the start of the semester. A student who wishes to intern for academic credit must obtain the internship and apply to the instructor in time to attend the first class meeting. For the application for approval to register and more information about the Judicial Internship Program, go to https://law.utexas.edu/internships/judicial-internship/. This program is open to students who have completed the first two semesters of law school. Interns who receive academic credit may not be compensated. Students may enroll only once in a judicial internship for academic credit.

The Judicial Internship Program lasts for one semester and includes a weekly class and a concurrent internship in an approved court placement. Students research complex legal questions and draft memoranda, opinions and orders under the supervision of judges and their staff attorneys and law clerks. Students apply and extend their substantive legal knowledge and further develop their analytical, research, writing, and oral communication skills. Students also observe court proceedings and learn about court procedure and legal advocacy. A fall or spring internship must extend over a period of at least 10 weeks between the first and last class day of the semester. Students work at the internship placement for at least 150 hours. Students who also enroll in the 1 credit Judicial Internship Program Supplement complete an additional 50 hours of work at the internship placement, for a total of at least 200 hours. Within these parameters, each intern arranges a mutually agreeable work schedule with the court. The internship must involve the student and the supervising attorney working in person; regular remote work is not permitted. Students and supervisors are expected to work together at their placement offices. The weekly class covers a variety of topics relevant to the judicial process and working at a court, such as goal setting and reflection, judicial ethics, writing and communicating in chambers, judicial decision-making, statutory construction, and the organization and operation of the courts. Course requirements include reading assignments, class presentations, court observations, short reflective writing assignments, self-assessments, and timesheets. There will be a course packet available for purchase at the start of the semester. In addition to class meetings, students meet individually with the instructor several times during the internship to discuss their goals and review their progress. Application Requirements: An application for approval to register is required. A student may not register until the instructor has approved the application. Before submitting an application to the instructor, a student must first apply for and obtain a judicial internship with an approved court in Austin. The student must be assigned to a specific judge on the court who agrees to participate in the Texas Law program. Approved courts include the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the Texas Third Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court (including the active and senior district court judges and the magistrate judges), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, and the Travis County Probate Court. Many of these courts post internship openings on the Career Services Office's Job Bank on Symplicity. Others post information about internships on the court's website. Apply as soon as possible. Most courts accept applications and select interns for the fall semester during the prior spring semester, some as early as March. A few make their selections closer to the start of the semester. A student who wishes to intern for academic credit must obtain the internship and apply to the instructor in time to attend the first class meeting. For the application for approval to register and more information about the Judicial Internship Program, go to https://law.utexas.edu/internships/judicial-internship/. This program is open to students who have completed the first two semesters of law school. Interns who receive academic credit may not be compensated. Students may enroll only once in a judicial internship for academic credit.

APPLICATION REQUIRED. Instructors: Robert Kepple and Erik Nielsen. The objective of this course is to educate students on the law and legal issues commonly encountered in criminal prosecution, and to familiarize the students with the unique duties and responsibilities of a criminal prosecutor not simply as an advocate, but as a minister of justice. The course consists of a 2-credit classroom component and a 3-credit internship program in the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. All credits are pass/fail. The course is open to students who have completed the first two semesters of law school, but enrollment is limited and preference is given to students who have completed 43 credit hours or who are in their second semester of their second year of law school, and who would be eligible to appear in court for the State under the supervision of a licensed prosecutor. It is recommended that students have completed Evidence prior to this internship. The classroom component of the course will require students to study substantive and procedural law and issues commonly-encountered by criminal prosecutors, covering topics such as charging instruments, discovery, search and seizure, jury selection, public integrity prosecution, trial tactics, evidence, post-conviction DNA, and oral advocacy. Students will also spend significant time discussing the unique ethical responsibilities and duties of a public prosecutor, with focus on the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and the National Prosecution Standards. Each student will also be assigned to a trial court prosecution team or to the Special Victims Unit in the District Attorney's office and will be supervised by prosecutors assigned to the court and the Unit. Students can expect to gain active experience in all aspects of the day-to-day functions of the public prosecutor, including the charging decision, pleading, discovery, motions to suppress evidence, motions to revoke probation, and the trial of the case. Commensurate with experience and opportunity, students may have the opportunity to actively participate in the courtroom proceedings. Students are required to fill out applications for admission to the course and will consult with the instructors in advance regarding their court placement. Students must complete 150 hours of placement work for their internship. Each student will arrange a mutually convenient work schedule with their supervising attorney. Students may not receive compensation for their internship.

This public service internship course has two components: (1) a weekly class, and (2) an internship with a government or nonprofit organization that involves delivering legal services and performing other law-related tasks under the supervision of an experienced lawyer employed by the organization. Students engage in legal work in public service offices, gaining hands-on experience that they reflect upon and analyze in a weekly class. Assignments address topics relevant to the legal profession and professional identity, including ethics, advocacy and communication skills, and professional self-development.

In their internships, students will develop lawyering skills important to their current stage of professional development. Placement supervisors are experienced attorneys who broadly expose students to the activities of their offices, oversee varied and demanding assignments, and provide regular feedback on student performance. Students are required to work at least 150 hours at their internships during the semester, and students may not receive financial compensation for their internship work. The internship must involve the student and the supervising attorney working in person; regular remote work is not permitted. Students and supervisors are expected to work together at their placement offices.

The classroom component of the course is designed to enhance the educational experience of students by giving them the opportunity to reflect on their internship and to understand the broader landscape in which their internship is situated. Through the seminar, students will deepen their understanding of public service lawyering, ethical issues that confront public sector lawyers, and the role of lawyers in increasing access to justice.

Application Requirements: Students must submit an application for permission to register for the course. The course is open to students who have completed the first two semesters of law school. Before submitting an application to the instructor, a student must first arrange an in-person government or nonprofit internship based in the Austin area. The instructor is available to consult with students about possible placements, and some organizations post opportunities on TEX. Each placement and supervising attorney must be approved by the instructor prior to registration. A student who wishes to intern for academic credit must obtain the internship and apply to the instructor before the first class meeting.

Students who have previously received credit through any of the other internship courses (nonprofit, legislative, judicial, etc.) are eligible to enroll in this course. Credits: 4 (graded pass/fail)

No scheduled meeting time. Internship – APPLICATION REQUIRED. Contact the instructor for information about applying. Students must register for both Semester in Practice internship courses (one for 8 credits and one for 2 credits – for a total of 10 credits). Students must intern in-person at their field placements for this course, no remote internships will be approved. Students in this clinical internship immerse themselves in practice, developing their professional skills and studying the role of lawyers and legal institutions. The course addresses topics relevant to public service lawyering in varied settings, including professionalism, ethics, advocacy, access to justice, the legal profession, and legal institutions. For placements in the U.S., students intern have the opportunity to intern full-time in government, nonprofit and legislative offices located outside of the Austin area. For placements outside the U.S., students have the opportunity to intern full-time with specialized courts, international institutions, and nongovernmental organizations. Placement supervisors are experienced attorneys who expose students to the legal activities of their offices, oversee varied and demanding assignments, and provide regular feedback on student performance. Each student consults with the instructor to arrange his or her field placement, and each placement and supervisor must be approved by the instructor prior to registration. An international placement may be arranged in consultation with the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice or arranged independently Students are required to intern for 500 hours and may not receive a salary for their internship work, although they may receive a modest stipend to offset unusual living or travel expenses. Students are expected to complete a number of written assignments and maintain close contact with the instructor during the internship. Interested students should review the course website (https://law.utexas.edu/internships/application-information//) and then email the instructor (Eden Harrington, eharrington@law.utexas.edu) to arrange a time to discuss the course.

No scheduled meeting time. Internship – APPLICATION REQUIRED. Contact the instructor for information about applying. Students must register for both Semester in Practice internship courses (one for 8 credits and one for 2 credits – for a total of 10 credits). Students must intern in-person at their field placements for this course, no remote internships will be approved. Students in this clinical internship immerse themselves in practice, developing their professional skills and studying the role of lawyers and legal institutions. The course addresses topics relevant to public service lawyering in varied settings, including professionalism, ethics, advocacy, access to justice, the legal profession, and legal institutions. For placements in the U.S., students intern have the opportunity to intern full-time in government, nonprofit and legislative offices located outside of the Austin area. For placements outside the U.S., students have the opportunity to intern full-time with specialized courts, international institutions, and nongovernmental organizations. Placement supervisors are experienced attorneys who expose students to the legal activities of their offices, oversee varied and demanding assignments, and provide regular feedback on student performance. Each student consults with the instructor to arrange his or her field placement, and each placement and supervisor must be approved by the instructor prior to registration. An international placement may be arranged in consultation with the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice or arranged independently Students are required to intern for 500 hours and may not receive a salary for their internship work, although they may receive a modest stipend to offset unusual living or travel expenses. Students are expected to complete a number of written assignments and maintain close contact with the instructor during the internship. Interested students should review the course website (https://law.utexas.edu/internships/application-information//) and then email the instructor (Eden Harrington, eharrington@law.utexas.edu) to arrange a time to discuss the course.

This course is restricted to upper class students only. U.S. Army Externship – APPLICATION REQUIRED. Application and/or instructions on how to apply for this externship can be accessed on the web: http://law.utexas.edu/internships/u-s-army-internship-application/

To apply, please e-mail a copy of your cover letter, resume and transcript (unofficial is fine) to Professor Susan Klein at sklein@law.utexas.edu and to Captain Andrew Lane at andrew.d.lane7.mil@army.mil. Students interested in the externship are encouraged to stop by Prof. Klein’s office at TNH 3.207 for additional information. Her office hours are Wed. from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. You may call or text her at (512) 203-2257 or send her an e-mail. Alternatively, you can reach the Fort Hood Trial Defense office at (254) 287-0476.

** This course meets the Professional Skills requirement for graduation. **

Course Description:

This program offers students externship positions with the United States Army Trial Defense Service, Fort Hood Field Office. Students earn two-credits “pass-fail” per semester. While this program is not available during either summer session, students are welcome to apply for summer positions directly with that office. Students may apply for a single semester, or for the full year (both long semesters).

Students will assist defense counsels and paralegals in administrative separations and criminal proceedings pursuant to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Fort Hood Legal office is the largest and busiest office in the Army. Attorneys there have federal felony jury trials monthly, similar to those seen in a Federal District Court but often with crimes and facts unique to the military. Army JAG officers regularly change jobs, working as prosecutors, magistrate judges, defense attorneys, national security attorneys, and trial/appellate judges. This creates a level of collegiality and rapport not seen in criminal justice practice elsewhere.

Applicants may benefit from upper-level criminal law courses such as Adv. Fed. Crim. Prosecution & Defense, Federal Criminal Law, National Security Law, Cybersecurity Law, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence. None of those courses are required.

The externship requires 10 hours per week, though most hours can be completed outside of the office. Students should expect to spend one day every other week at Fort Hood Trial Defense Service, 330 761st Tank Battalion Ave., Fort Hood, Tx 76544, working in the office or in court. Ft. Hood is located about halfway between Austin and Waco, a bit over an hour’s drive from the law school or about 50 minutes from Georgetown.

The application deadline for fall 2025, or the full academic year, is April 14, 2025. The application deadline for spring 2026 is October 6, 2025. Interviews are conducted at the Career Services Office or over Zoom. Though students should know whether they are admitted before fall registration, the unique registration number for the fall 2025 externship will not be available until April 2025. For the spring 2026 semester, students should know whether they are accepted before registration.

Additional Information

Information about the U.S. Army Trial Defense Service, is available at: Trial Defense Service Public (army.mil).

Registration Information:

This course is restricted to upper class students only. APPLICATION IS REQUIRED. Application and/or instructions on how to apply for this internship can be accessed on the web: http://law.utexas.edu/internships/application-information/u-s-attorney-internship/

To apply, please send a resume, cover letter, and transcript (unofficial is sufficient) to Prof. Susan Klein sklein@law.utexas.edu, to usatxw.staffing@usdoj.gov, and to AUSA Daniel Castillo at daniel.castillo@doj.gov. There is no additional application form.

Students interested in the internship for the Fall 2025 – Spring 2026 academic year are encouraged to stop by Prof. Susan Klein’s office at TNH 3.207 for additional information. Her office hours are on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. You may call her at (512) 203-2257 or send an e-mail. You may also contact Mr. Castillo at (512) 916-5858 or via email.

** This course meets the Professional Skills requirement for graduation. **

Course Description:

This program offers four or five students internship positions with the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. Students are expected to work 10 hours per week for each semester. The office is located at 903 San Jacinto Blvd., Suite 334 Austin, Texas 78701. Some of those hours can be completed at school or at home. Students will assist in the prosecution of federal criminal cases under the supervision of Assistant U.S. Attorneys. Students will receive two credits "pass-fail" for the internship for each semester, for a total of four credits. Information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office is available at: www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/.

Students may wish to enroll in Advanced Federal Criminal Prosecution & Defense, Federal Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence. However, none of those courses are required.

The application deadline for the next academic year is April 7, 2025. Though students will know whether they are selected for the program before fall registration, the unique number for the fall 2025 internship may not be available then. Interviews will be conducted at the Career Services Office or via Zoom.

Additional Information

 Additional information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office internship program may be reviewed at

 https://www.justice.gov/legal-careers/job/law-student-volunteer-academic-year-0.

The legal framework of commercial real estate finance and development, including basic real estate law concepts, legal aspects of financing techniques and instruments, subdivision land-use controls, environmental regulation of real estate development, and other topics.

A survey of a range of core legal practice areas, including copyright, trademark, insurance, employment, immigration, contracts (with artists, sponsors, vendors and others), and working with municipalities using the backdrop of a live festival event. Expect guest lecturers from within the industry.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

Introduction to problem-solving through law-practice simulation. Focuses on legal research, writing mechanics, predictive written analysis, and oral presentation of research results.

The course will cover oral Legal English.

Prerequisite: Legal Analysis and Communication This course is restricted to upper division students who have completed the first year, two semester, Legal Analysis and Communication course or who otherwise obtain the permission of the instructors. LLM and Exchange Students interested in taking the course should first contact the instructors to discuss whether their prior coursework includes instruction similar to a first year, two semester, Legal Analysis and Communication course. This one credit, pass-fail, seven week course will solidify and build upon legal research skills acquired during the first year of law school. It will focus on the identification and evaluation of relevant primary and secondary sources and efficient information retrieval. Students will learn how to design a research strategy that effectively integrates using online tools with an underlying understanding of traditional print resources. Students who successfully complete this course will gain a thorough understanding of the use of legal information and research resources in diverse contexts. Emphasis will be placed on U.S. federal sources, but Texas materials will be referenced in the course, and will serve as a model for research in the legal materials of other states. Students will be required to complete both in- and out-of-class exercises throughout the course, but there is no final examination.

This one hour, pass-fail course focuses on research resources used in business and commercial practice. The emphasis of the course is on identifying sources and efficiently undertaking corporate, securities, and general business and commercial law research. It is not a class on the substantive aspects of corporate and securities law except as those aspects relate to the finding and interpretation of legal materials. Students will be be evaluated on take-home and in-class research assignments.

This seven-week course will focus on the resources and methodology used in performing legal research in Texas. Through a series of lectures and assignments, students will become familiar with the various types of legal research, including statutory law, case law, administrative regulations, and secondary practice materials. The course is offered on a Pass/Fail basis. Students are required to complete in-class and out-of-class exercises throughout the course, but there is no final exam.

The sources and methods of research in foreign and international law are largely excluded from the first year training in legal research. Yet, both international law and the law of foreign countries are today of ever-increasing significance to American lawyers. The purpose of the course is to introduce the information sources in these fields and the ways of doing research in them, tailored to the needs of American law students and lawyers. Areas covered include: public international law, including treaty research; documentation of international organizations, including the UN and the European Union, particularly as available on the WWW; the law of other countries, with the emphasis on jurisdictions that American lawyers are likely to encounter, e.g., Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany; selected topics with an international component, e.g., commercial arbitration, intellectual property, international litigation. The grade is based on the completion of research exercises. There is no exam. This is a one-credit, mandatory Credit/No Credit course. It is taught during the first seven weeks of the semester. Prerequisite: A law school course with an international or comparative focus, which may be taken simultaneously. Familiarity with online legal research, including Westlaw, Lexis, and WWW.

Advanced Legal Writing: Analysis and Process covers legal analysis, organization, clarity of expression, and writing mechanics, as well as managing research-and-writing projects. A key focus is on producing professional written work on the job.

Advanced Legal Writing: Appeals offers instruction in advanced written advocacy techniques tailored to the appellate context. The course will build on the foundations established in Persuasive Writing & Advocacy, honing students' brief-writing skills while familiarizing them with each step in the appellate process. Lectures and readings will address common challenges and errors in appellate advocacy, and a series of short exercises will help students put into practice the strategies discussed in class. Students will learn, among other skills, how to synthesize complex facts into clear, persuasive prose; how to precisely and strategically frame issues on appeal; how to analogize and distinguish case law; and how to structure a brief for maximal clarity and strength. The course also includes a research component with particular focus on common issues in appellate practice, such as standards of review, hierarchy among courts, and doctrines of deference and abstention. Individualized feedback will be provided for each assignment, enabling students to confidently construct the full-length brief that will comprise their final grade.

This course will develop the writing skills you will use in litigation, with a focus on the kinds of clients, cases, and forums you will encounter in a public interest practice. Our primary focus will be on motions practice, but you’ll also get some practice writing to clients and opposing counsel. We will work not only on your writing style, but also your strategic judgment. You will have about six writing assignments of varying intensity. You will edit your peers’ work, which will make you a more empathetic writer and a better self-editor. The course will prepare you for the pace and expectations of real-life practice. This two-credit class meets once a week. There are no exams. Grading is pass/fail.

This course focuses on analytical legal writing. Students will practice the skills of writing and critiquing written legal analysis and will receive instructor feedback on their writing and critiquing. Two credits, pass-fail. Enrollment is restricted to Teaching Quizmasters.

The course focuses on the structure and style of contracts and agreements with a focus on modern drafting conventions. Students will practice revising and drafting various kinds of transactional documents.

The course focuses on the structure and style of contracts and agreements with a focus on modern drafting conventions. Students will practice revising and drafting various kinds of transactional documents.

The course focuses on the structure and style of contracts and agreements with a focus on modern drafting conventions. Students will practice revising and drafting various kinds of transactional documents.

In the modern regulatory state, the primary instrument of ordered social change is legislation. But legislation must first be written before it can perform this role. This course explores the interpretation and application of statutes, and their effect on the systemic implementation of societal change, through the problem-solving art of legislative drafting. We will consider fundamental concepts necessary for successful legislative drafting including, among others, the functions of statutes; implementation concerns and solutions; and executive and judicial encroachments on legislative powers and responses. We will examine public policy problems through in-class exercises related to the drafting, consideration, and adoption of legislation. Using the context of a state legislative committee's consideration of legislation (with students assuming the role of legislators), students will debate, amend, and vote on legislation on topics of interest to the class. Each student will prepare a proposed law or constitutional amendment and an accompanying legislative memorandum of law; students will also draft amendments, other proposed language, and riders as legislation is debated in class. Students also will have the opportunity to strengthen their oral advocacy skills through the in-class legislative debate. This course is ideal for those looking to practice law in a legislative, administrative, or regulatory environment.

This course examines problems in complex mass tort litigation that emerged during the 1980s and now have become a permanent part of the litigation landscape. Initially, the course surveys the paradigmatic mass tort cases such as those involving the Dalkon Shield, Agent Orange and asbestos litigation to understand and define the peculiar problems arising in the context of mass tort litigation, as opposed to simple two-party tort litigation. During the course we also will examine other mass tort cases involving mass disasters such as Bhopal, Three Mile Island, the Hyatt-Regency Skywalk collapse and the Dupont Plaza Hotel fire; and mass products liability litigation involving bendectin, DES, the silicon breast implant litigation, defective heart valve litigation, repetitive stress injury litigation. We will discuss the evolution of mass tort litigation over a span of fifty years, examining the most recent resolution of the NFL Football League Concussion Litigation. In the first section of the course we deal with jurisprudential issues, including the debate between proponents of aggregative procedure versus litigant autonomy. In an economic framework, we examine the problem of balancing justice, cost, and delay as these values relate to economic efficiency and sound judicial administration. This portion of the course examines special ethical dilemmas in mass tort litigation. The course then canvasses procedural problems entailed in mass tort litigation, including the failures and successes of federal and state procedural rules to adequately handle these massive cases through the class action rule, consolidation, MDL procedure, and preclusion doctrine. We will examine and discuss the shift of mass tort dispute resolution to multi-district litigation auspices, and the issues and problems of resolving these cases through MDL procedures. The third edition of the casebook addresses mass tort class litigation in a post-Amchem/Ortiz world. New materials have been added concerning expanded use of MDL auspices, bellwether trials, non-class aggregate settlements, the quasi-class action, the aggregate settlement rule, and the ethical duties of attorneys with clients in MDL and non-class proceedings. Two revised chapters focus on challenging issues in mass tort litigation: damage sampling; statistical proof; limited issues classes; multiphase trial plans; sub-classing; and res judicata. New cases have been added that reflect resolution of various pharmaceutical mass torts (Vioxx and Zyprexa); personal injury mass torts (the NFL and Collegiate Athletes concussion litigation); products liability mass torts (the Ford and GMC Ignition Switch litigations; heart-valve cases; tobacco litigation; the moldy washer cases); natural and man-made environmental disasters (the Hurricane Katrina and BP Gulf Oil Spill litigation), and the World Trade Center events. A new chapter includes materials on the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, including the concept of the “mass action.” Finally, the third edition includes materials on so-called “fund approaches” to resolving mass tort litigation. The casebook for this course is Linda S. Mullenix, MASS TORT LITIGATION; CASES AND MATERIALS (3d ed. 2016)(West Aacdemic Publishing 2016). Prerequisites: Civil Procedure; Torts.

This course focuses on the acquisition of professional skills necessary to perform two separate roles in the mediation process: legal advocate and mediator. During the course, students will learn the social and political bases for the development of alternative dispute resolution procedures; become familiar with different models of negotiation and mediation; study the legislation regulating the practice of mediation, especially in Texas courts; increase awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses in communication and negotiation and improve those skills; acquire advocacy skills for representing clients in mediation; acquire the essential skills necessary to mediate interpersonal and legal disputes; and develop a framework for making ethical decisions as a legal advocate or mediator in the mediation process. Students will read textbooks, participate in negotiation and mediation role plays, complete exercises designed to enhance communication and negotiation skills, and prepare a reflective journal. The course is designed to fulfill the statutory minimum requirements in Texas for a basic training course in dispute resolution techniques.

This course will provide an introduction to litigating and navigating disputes between counterparties to merger and acquisition agreements. Led by Michael Holmes – who has successfully tried some of the most high-stakes Delaware M&A disputes of recent years – the course will cover the major doctrines, as well as strategic and tactical considerations. Aspiring transactional attorneys and litigators will develop a useful framework for understanding (and hopefully avoiding) areas of potential disputes. Business Associations is a recommended prerequisite.

There is no textbook. The instructors will assign cases, treatises, articles, and other reading materials on a module-by-module basis.

This course is designed to facilitate the development and refinement of knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill the mitigation function on capital or non-capital defense teams. The goals of the course are to introduce students to roles and responsibilities of mitigation specialists and sentencing advocates and facilitate the development of skills needed to work within interdisciplinary defense settings. The course will take a broad interdisciplinary approach to sentencing advocacy, providing students with an opportunity to learn legal frameworks that govern the presentation and consideration of mitigating evidence. Through both conceptual instruction and low-ratio supervision workshops, students will learn to develop a biopsychosocial history of the client, interview and forge relationships with clients and their family members, identify underlying causes of behavior, and facilitate restorative solutions for the client and community. Learning will culminate in the production of a compelling mitigation presentation. This course will bring together interdisciplinary teams of social work undergraduate and masters-level students working in combination with UT law students. Given the interdisciplinary nature of mitigation work, a small number of seats will also be reserved for students from other disciplines including communication, education, psychology, sociology, and others. Students from different educational backgrounds and concentrations will work together in small diverse groups to produce and present assignments to the larger class. The course will be taught by a combination of lawyers and practicing mitigation specialists, and will feature guest lectures and presentations by leaders in the mitigation field. Course Objectives At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to: Demonstrate engagement, assessment, intervention and evaluation skills relevant to developing mitigating evidence in a capital or non-capital case; this may include document collection, interviewing, consulting with experts and other skills related to biopsychosocial history and investigation. Understand legal frameworks for the presentation and consideration of mitigation evidence. Constructively participate as a member of an interdisciplinary team while: retaining professional identity; brainstorming issues and problems that arise in the defense of criminal cases; and developing strategies to address them. Discuss and work through ethical issues that arise in capital and noncapital cases. Demonstrate how to incorporate multimedia strategies and tools to present the most compelling mitigation presentation in a given case. Encourage creativity and interdisciplinary conceptualization of overarching themes and stories that arise in capital and noncapital cases. Critically examine the context of systemic and structural oppression and other relevant social justice issues on the micro, mezzo, and macro level.

Instructor: Ware V. Wendell (www.WendellLaw.com). Whether litigating civil or criminal cases, performing transactional work, or using the skills acquired in law school outside of the practice of law, it is likely that the professional life of many law school graduates will include negotiating on a regular basis. This course will explore the foundation of negotiation theory and practice with a heavy emphasis on experiential learning and real-world examples. By the end of the course, each student should be an experienced, skilled, and confident negotiator. We will discuss and practice negotiation strategy, styles, skills, agreement writing, and ethics. We will also examine psychological, cultural, and other influences on the negotiation process. This is a highly-interactive course, utilizing negotiation exercises between pairs of students (which will be video recorded). These exercises are debriefed through class discussions in which everyone will be expected to actively participate. We will also invite experienced attorneys and other professionals to share their insights with the class. The course is limited to sixteen students, and because we will often be working in pairs on exercises, regular attendance is expected. There will be no exams. Grades will be determined by performance on the negotiation exercises, journal entries, comprehension of the reading, and participation in class discussions.

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 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.

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.

The course focuses on deal-making strategies, contract structuring, and dispute resolution in business transactions. The course blends legal principles with business strategy, equipping students with practical skills through case studies, simulations, and real-world negotiation exercises. Designed to prepare future lawyers and business professionals to navigate high-stakes corporate negotiations effectively.

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.

Oil & Gas Taxation covers the United States federal income taxation of domestic oil and gas operations and transactions. The course examines taxation associated with the operational life cycle of oil and gas operations including exploration, development, production and abandonment. The study of transactions involving oil and gas interests analyzes acquisition, disposition, structuring and investment. Course participants learn the historical context and development of oil and gas provisions found in U.S. tax law. Current tax legislative proposals or enactments that affect the oil and gas industry are addressed if warranted. Although emphasis is on federal income taxation of domestic oil and gas transactions, the international tax aspects of the oil and gas business also are surveyed. It is helpful if students have taken Federal Income Tax or Oil and Gas Law, but I will teach the class so that students will not need to have taken these classes as prerequisites to this course. This class is open to Accounting and Petroleum engineering students.

The objective of the class is to give students a hands-on experience of the major issues in patent cases from case filing and pre-trial. Students will take briefing from actual motions that were previously pending in Judge Albright’s Court. Students will prepare and argue both sides of the motions before Judge Albright as though they were arguing in court, learning over the course of several arguments how to zealously advocate for their clients while accurately recounting the facts and law. Other judges and special masters who handle certain motions and hearings will preside over some of the classes to expose the students to a wider variety of adjudicators. Additionally, in-house and outside counsel trial lawyers and experts will be available to the students to help coach them as they prepare for their hearings. To provide different experiences for the students in terms of venue, arguments will be made in the courtroom at the Austin federal courthouse. Accordingly, students should expect some non-standard meeting times. We will work with everyone in the class to ensure that any proposal to meet at an irregular time is acceptable to all students in the course. Example motions in patent cases that students should prepare to undertake are: 1. Motion to dismiss 2. Motion to transfer 3. Claim construction briefing 4. Discovery motion 5. Daubert motion 6. Motion for summary judgment

This course provides a foundation that will introduce students to the use of a variety of analytic tools employed in the policymaking process. We pay particular attention to the major players in the process, and how gender in conjunction with race and ethnicity have become more salient in policy formation. Given the centrality of health care to the modern welfare state, we will examine how gender, race, and ethnicity influence health policy. Toward that end, the class will examine the gender dimensions of health, illness, and the health care industry in the United States and other developed nations. It is motivated by the fact that health, disease, and medical care have important gender-specific dimensions that interact with other sources of disadvantage, economic and political structures, and culture. In the past the health care system often ignored gender, as well as race-and ethnic-based differences in health and health-care needs.

These gaps in knowledge concerning risks and appropriate treatments have very specific consequences that we will investigate and debate. The collection of readings will allow us to examine the social institutions that shape men’s and women’s health and health care. Specific topics will include reproductive health, single motherhood and the stress of raising children alone, welfare and health care, divorce and changes in health, certain illnesses that women experience including breast and ovarian cancer, drug and alcohol abuse, and the forces that influence research into men and women’s health problems. Furthermore, we examine the role of women as major actors in changing the health care system, reducing health risks for themselves and their families, and their roles as health care providers, public administrators, and leaders in the health care establishment.

The second objective of the course is for students to develop an understanding of the major sources of health social policy data (e.g., demographic statistics, administrative records, health surveys, etc.). Our objective is to develop a critical understanding of the appropriate use of health-related data and to determine how they can best be used to evaluate a broad array of public policies.Finally, throughout the semester we examine the role of different levels and branches of government, touch upon the role of local, state and federal agencies in health policy formation and implementation (e.g., Medicaid), the politics of the medicalization of women’s issues including childbirth, refugee and immigrant health, and more. Alternative political ideologies regarding state and private responsibility for women’s health will be compared and contrasted. This involves gauging the relative power of key non-governmental actors, such as interest groups, health care NGOs, researchers, and the media in the definition and framing of our health agenda.

Note that the book course deals with rapidly evolving issues and readings serve as a point of departure. They will be adjusted in conformity with student interests and as current events warrant.

Bird, C.E. and P.P. Rieker. 2008. Gender and Health: The Effects of Constrained Choices and Social Policies. New York: Cambridge University Press.

The purpose of the course is to expose students to contemporary policy challenges in the national security arena and, in doing so, provide the student a framework for making future decisions across the entire public policy spectrum.   You will be exposed to a variety of geopolitical scenarios and working in conjunction with a “national security team” you will develop a list of options for government leaders. The course goes beyond the theoretical and analytical to understanding exactly how national security policy is made in the most complex and politically sensitive environments.  In the scenarios, you will be confronted with the challenges of whether to conduct a drone strike in a denied area, address the development of nuclear weapons in Iran, a potential conflict between Russia and NATO, whether to intervene in a potential Global contagion and several other current international problems.  You will learn to understand the implications of U.S. actions on both international and domestic policy.  Throughout the course we will also examine the role of leadership in policy making.

This survey course on lawyers' professional responsibilities is centered on two premises: (1) The practice of law is a business as well as a profession, and economic incentives therefore matter; and (2) more than 90 percent of all lawsuits settle. Thus, we will give special attention to the economic aspects of the attorney-client relationship and the various incentives that existing ethical Rules provide both lawyers and clients. We will also pay particular attention to a wide range of ethical issues surrounding the settlement process. The course will cover approximately 85% of the material that is typically tested on the MPRE.  In previous years, students all reported feeling well prepared for, and doing well on, the MPRE.  The "short course" format, with our final class meeting scheduled for November 3, means that the course will be completed prior to the November 13/14 MPRE testing dates. This course fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement for graduation. The exam format will be an in-class, 3-hour, exam consisting of 2-hours of objective questions (multiple choice and true-false) and a one-hour, word-limited essay question.  The exam will be closed note, closed internet, but open "Professional Responsibility Rules."

This course will introduce students to core concepts and doctrines in the field of professional responsibility. It will touch on all of the subjects needed to prepare for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. The class will be taught through case examples and problems. Students will take an in-class examination. This course fulfills the Professional Responsibility requirement for graduation. 

This course approaches the subject of professional responsibility as a study of how society regulates the legal profession and the conduct of lawyers. First, we study the organized regulation of the profession, which includes the following topics: (1) the admission of lawyers, (2) the establishment of the legal services monopoly through unauthorized practice of law statutes, (3) the state and federal systems for disciplining lawyers, and (4) the clients. Second, we study the regulation of the conduct of individual lawyers through the transactional perspectives: (1) formation of the attorney- client relationship, (2) performance of the representation, and (3) termination of the relationship. We also spend significant time examining the three contexts of regulating lawyers' conduct: (1) the disciplinary committee, (2) the private malpractice action, and (3) judicial regulation as part of the lawyer's representation of a client. Although we discuss the Model Code and the Model Rules, this course does not focus on the rules of professional responsibility as the sole source of ethical guidelines. The course should prepare you for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam; however, it is more useful as an introduction to identifying and resolving ethical problems in practice. In addition, it is your first introduction to the practice of law as a profession. Student grades are assessed through an in class exam with objective questions and essay questions; a 5 page outside paper, and completing the multiple choice questions in the Casebook Plus online module.

A survey of interests in land and limited topics involving chattels, estates, cotenancy, landlord and tenant issues, conveyancing, private and public control of land use.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of federal, state, and local laws governing the possession, use, and administration of psychedelics. Students will gain a foundational understanding of the policy reform movements shaping psychedelic law across the country, with a comparative analysis of enacted and proposed legislation at various levels of government. The course will explore federally legal pathways for therapeutic participation, including ketamine treatment, drug development studies, and other research initiatives. Additionally, students will examine legal exemptions under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and related case law. Students will be expected to participate in discussion each week and in one group project taking place during class. This course has no textbook and no specific prerequisites. No technical background is required.

This course provides a basic introduction to public international law. It will survey the basic principles of international law including: the sources of international law; the law and interpretation of treaties; the relationship between international and domestic law; and jurisdictional competencies. It will also examine a number of specific subjects including: the use of force; human rights; humanitarian law; international criminal law; and terrorism.

This course introduce students to the avenues and theories lawyers can utilize to conceptualize and seek social change. Through readings and discussion, we will explore past, present, and future movement lawyering strategies and concepts, including aspects of the civil rights movement, prison abolition, and Afrofuturism. We will examine the ways lawyers engage with communities, clients, and political causes, as well as the ethical issues that may arise when advocating on behalf of class members with divergent interests. Although the law can serve as an effective tool for change, it has its limitations. This course will help us recognize the need for movement lawyers to work in partnership with communities, organizers, and policymakers to achieve justice. Depending on scheduling and availability, this course will incorporate guest speakers engaged in movement lawyering, community organizers, and public policy. Students will be expected to read, watch, and listen to the assigned materials and actively participate in discussion. Students will leave with a deeper knowledge of social justice lawyering, and an understanding of how to recognize the law’s limitations as a singular tool to achieve social, political, economic, and racial equality.

Introduction to Real Estate Law and Practice is for students with little or no knowledge or experience in the industry. This course will begin with an introduction to the commercial real estate industry, including the basic vocabulary and law. This course will review legal theory in the areas of contracts, property (including condominium law), agency, tax (federal income tax and property tax), land use, and business entities; and will apply those areas of law to purchase and sale agreements, brokerage arrangements, leases of improved real estate, choice of ownership entity, acquisition and construction financing, eminent domain and insurance. This course will include a discussion of various types of legal practices in the area of real estate law. This course will only tangentially deal with residential real estate. Materials to be used will include materials supplied by the professor in PDF format. There are no formal prerequisites.

This is an interesting time to study the law of Religious Liberty.  The Supreme Court has heard multiple cases and issued a number of decisions in recent years construing the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment.  Studying these developments is helpful not just to understanding this area of constitutional law, but also to examining the Supreme Court as an institution.

This class is an introduction to the law of Religious Liberty.  It will also present an opportunity to develop appellate advocacy skills.  Students will simulate oral arguments before the Supreme Court in significant religious liberty controversies, by performing in the role of both advocates and justices.

This course is open to students who have already taken a course in Constitutional Law.  No other prerequisite is required.  We will meet roughly every other week for two hours at a time.  The course is graded, but students are welcome to exercise their pass-fail option if they wish.  Grades will turn on the quality of in-class participation, both as advocates and as justices.  Students will have the chance to learn the law of Religious Liberty from a seasoned practitioner, and to practice oral advocacy before a bench of your fellow students, as well as a federal circuit judge.

Each week, two to four students will be assigned a Supreme Court case to argue, before a bench comprised of fellow students who will serve as Justices.  After each oral argument, we will discuss the issues presented in the case and raised during the argument.

The scope of this class is both domestic and international and crosses multiple disciplines and fields of law. The course touches many aspects of the processes of creating art, buying and selling it, using it, or displaying it in a museum. Additionally, the course covers the more nefarious legal issues in art and cultural property, including forgery, theft, illegal movement, and art in war, focusing on art stolen in the Holocaust.

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.

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 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.