Law

This course covers the procedures courts use in deciding lawsuits that do not involve criminal misconduct. Much of it is concerned with the process of litigation in trial courts, from the initial documents called pleadings, through the pre-trial process, especially the process of discovery in which parties obtain information from one another, to trial itself.

This course is an introduction to the structure of the U.S. Constitution and the rights and liberties it defines. Judicial review, federalism, congressional powers and limits, the commerce clause, and the 10th Amendment are covered, as are the equal protection and due process clauses.

This course examines the legal obligations that attach to promises made in a business contract or otherwise, including the remedies that may be available for promises that are not kept. The course examines the legal requirements for enforceable contracts, including consideration, consent and conditions, and the effect of fraud, mistake, unconscionability, and impossibility.

This course explores the basic principles of Anglo-American criminal law, including the constituent elements of criminal offenses, the necessary predicates for criminal liability, the major concepts of justification and excuse, and the conditions under which offenders can be liable for attempt. Major emphasis is placed on the structure and interpretation of modern penal codes.

This is the first semester of the yearlong basic skills course in the first-year curriculum covering fundamental legal research techniques, two styles of legal writing, and oral advocacy. In this first semester, students complete various research and citation exercises and write three office memoranda of increasing length and complexity.

This is the second semester of the yearlong basic skills course in the first-year curriculum covering fundamental legal research techniques, two styles of legal writing, and oral advocacy. In this second semester, students write an appellate brief and present an appellate oral argument before a panel of alumni, faculty, and Dillard Fellows (upperclass teaching assistants).

The course is a general introduction to property concepts and different types of property interests, particularly real property. The course surveys present and future estates in land, ownership and concurrent ownership. Leasehold interests, gifts and bequests, covenants and servitudes, conveyancing, various land use restrictions, eminent domain, and intellectual and personal property issues are also considered.

The course examines liability for civil wrongs that do not arise out of contract. It explores three standards of conduct: liability for intentional wrongdoing, negligence, and liability without fault, or strict liability, and other issues associated with civil liability, such as causation, damages, and defenses. Battery, medical malpractice, products liability, and tort reform will also be covered.

This course is the first half of the combined four-credit Accounting/Corporate Finance course. This course provides an understanding of the concepts of financial accounting and published financial statements.

This course is the second half of the combined four-credit Accounting/Corporate Finance course. The central theme is understanding the sources of value for the firm from the perspective of the manager who must make financing choices (sources of funds) and investment choices (uses of funds) to maximize the value of the firm.

This course covers the role of agencies in the constitutional structure and their operations. Topics include the nondelegation doctrine, executive appointment and removal power, the legislative veto as well as the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and other sources of law that regulate and structure the authority of agencies to determine the rights and responsibilities of the public.Prerequisite: LAW 6001-Constitutional Law

This course considers the formation and operation of corporations and compares corporations to other business forms. It examines the roles and duties of those who control businesses and the power of investors to influence and litigate against those in control. The course also addresses the special problems of closely held corporations and issues arising out of mergers and attempts to acquire firms. The course uses both new tools derived from the corporate finance and related literature and traditional tools to explore a wide range of phenomena and transactions associated with the modern business enterprise.

The course will cover questions of relevance, hearsay, privilege, and expert testimony, among others, and it will focus largely on problems arising in concrete factual settings, as opposed to traditional case analysis. Major emphasis will be placed on the Federal Rules of Evidence, which now apply in the courts of roughly 40 states as well as the federal system.

This course is about the federal judicial system and its relationship to various other decision-makers, including Congress and the state courts. We will examine the jurisdiction of the federal courts; the elements of a justiciable case or controversy; the role of state law and so-called "federal common law" in federal courts; implied causes of action; and state sovereign immunity.

This course will concentrate on the provisions that apply to all taxpayers, with particular concern for the taxation of individuals. The course is intended to provide grounding in such fundamental areas as the concept of income, income exclusions and exemptions, non-business deductions, deductions for business expenses, basic tax accounting, assignment of income, and capital gains and losses.

This is the introductory course in public (government-to-government) international law. Topics include the International Court of Justice, the United Nations, recognition and statehood, diplomatic immunity, sovereign immunity, the law of the sea, torture, the Geneva and Hague Conventions, treaties, the European Union, and the World Trade Organization.

This course probes the fundamental frameworks of civil rights and anti-discrimination law.

This course considers the formation and operation of corporations and will compare corporations to other business forms. It will examine the roles and duties of those who control businesses and the power of investors to influence and litigate against those in control. The course will also address the special problems of closely held corporations and issues arising out of mergers and attempts to acquire firms.

In Environmental Law, we address pollution control under the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts as well as natural resource protection under the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act. Although the primary focus will be on federal law, we will also explore some local, state and international dimensions.

This class offers an introduction to transactional legal practice at the intersection of law and business. The course topics include initial entity formation, an overview of alternative fundraising transactions, and an examination of several other complex contracting transactions. Both legal and business considerations will be discussed.

This lecture explores the theoretical foundations of freedom of speech and how free expression doctrine has emerged in the United States. Though it focuses mainly on U.S. law, the course also takes a broader global perspective, exploring how and why the U.S. free speech tradition is exceptional (and whether it should be).

This course examines legal and policy challenges stemming from rapidly evolving cybersecurity threats. The objective of the course is to contextualize cybersecurity threats and responses to them in a national and international law framework, while also recognizing the limits of current law, the need for further policy evolution, and the real-world impacts of different legal and policy options. No technical knowledge is required.

This course deals with the agency relationship and its consequences, focusing on such topics as contractual authority, vicarious liability, and fiduciary obligation. Using litigated cases, students will learn how to help clients structure their affairs in a manner consistent with their business goals, including minimizing unwanted liability.

This class studies American efforts to prevent the private subversion of free competition. In addition to analysis of the statutes and case law, students consider the history of antitrust regulation and the economic assumptions that drive much of its application.

This lecture course will explore the Supreme Court¿s explorations into providing constitutional protection for poor people during the 1960s and 1970s. It is part doctrinal analysis, part legal history, and part constitutional theory.