Law School Catalog | 2006-2008

Advanced Courses

223F, 323F. Federal Criminal Law. Prosecution and defense of criminal trials in federal district court; considerable emphasis on white-collar crime.

223L, 323L, 423L. Criminal Law II. Theory and content of complex criminal offenses, principally federal crimes. Prerequisite: Law 323.

230M, 330M, 430M. Real Estate Finance. An advanced problems course dealing with acquisition, financing, development, and disposition of real estate. Prerequisite: Law 231K, 331K, or 431K is recommended but not required.

231D, 331D. Real Estate Development. Intermediate-level overview of the real estate development process and relevant areas of law: land acquisition, leasing, construction finance, and permanent finance.

231K, 331K, 431K. Real Estate Transactions. Intermediate conveyancing course dealing with the transfer, finance, and development of real estate.

132C, 232C, 332C. Advanced Legal Research. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: As announced for each topic.

Topic 1: Advanced Research: Foreign and International Law. Introduction to the sources and methods of research in foreign and international law, tailored to the needs of American lawyers.

Topic 2: Advanced Research: Texas Law. Introduction to the judicial, statutory, and administrative sources of Texas law. Topics include research in state administrative law and legislative histories. Both print and electronic resources are covered.

132D, 232D, 332D. Advanced Legal Writing. A review of grammar, rhetorical techniques, organizational schemes, transitional devices, and persuasive language. Students focus on work completed in another course or in a clerkship. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Offered on the pass/fail basis only.

232E, 332E. Teaching Quizmaster. Restricted to second- and third-year students. Students teach legal research skills to first-year students and serve as teaching assistants for the writing portion of legal research and writing courses. At least ten to twenty hours a week for one semester. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Teaching Quizmaster program and appointment as a teaching assistant. Students must apply to the program in the spring semester prior to enrollment in the course and must complete a six-week training program.

132F, 232F. Internet Resources for Lawyers. Internet tools such as Web browsers and Web search and indexing engines. Emphasis on location and content of primary and secondary legal source material. Offered on the pass/fail basis only.

232G, 332G. Basic Drafting. Practice in drafting a client letter, a basic contract, and a set of rules; review of sentence-level skills, organization, and tone.

232J, 332J. Writing for Litigation. Study and review of sentence-level skills and tone. Emphasis on plain language, as well as clarity, brevity, organization, professionalism, and polish. Law 232J, 332J and 279M (Topic: Writing for Litigation) may not both be counted.

232N. Editing for Editors. Weekly workshop in editing techniques for law review editors. Each week the class discusses a submission from one law review. Offered on the pass/fail basis only.

239, 339, 439. Jurisprudence. Underlying problems in the functioning of a legal order; legal definition and justice as factors in decision making; discovery and interpretation of authority; rights and privileges of the person relative to society and government; conditions for imposing legal responsibility on a person; procedures for decision making; the relationship between law and the market in economic decision making.

240, 340. Family Law. Legal problems related to the establishment, dissolution, and reorganization of family relationships, including marriage, divorce, annulment, alimony and child support, custody, and injuries to family relations. Prerequisite: Completion of first-year law courses.

240M, 340M, 440M. Antitrust: Economic Analysis and Legal Interpretation. An examination of the business functions and competitive impact of practices that are subject to antitrust regulation to determine their legality under United States antitrust laws.

241F, 341F. Literature and the Law. Justice and law as they are presented in literary works that deal with race and work.

341G. Sports Law. An amalgam of contracts, antitrust, and labor law as they affect professional and collegiate sports in the United States. Emphasis on issues affecting professional team sports. Individual and college (especially Title IX) sports and the regulation of agents. Prerequisite: Knowledge of baseball, basketball, and football; Law 260K, 360K, or 460K and Law 261K, 361K, or 461K are recommended but not required. Course is best taken during the student's third year.

241H, 341H. Equine Law. Survey of the law relating to the American horse industry. Law 241H, 341H and 279M (Topic: Equine Law) may not both be counted.

241J. Environmental Law: Technical Issues. A survey of the scientific and technical aspects of environmental law, including chemistry, human physiology, toxicology, laboratory analysis methods, and risk assessment. A study of environmental control strategies and technologies for air and water pollution, groundwater protection, and hazardous waste management.

241L, 341L, 441L. Environmental Law. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: As announced for each topic.

Topic 1: Introduction, Air, Water, and Toxics. An introduction to pollution control, the common law antecedents, and early statutory developments, and an intensive study of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.

Topic 2: Hazardous Wastes and Enforcement. A study of enforcement issues, including citizens' suits. Examines the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund). Prerequisite: Law 341L (Topic 1) is recommended but not required.

Topic 3: Environmental Law and Natural Resources. An introduction to environmental thinking in the context of scarce publicly and privately owned natural resources. Covers public trust doctrine, relevance of the Tenth Amendment to environmental protection, the National Endowment Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act.

241M, 341M, 441M. Mass Media Law. Regulation of broadcast media by the Federal Communications Commission; the constitutional and administrative law problems generated by regulation.

241P, 341P. Comparative Environmental Law. Property rights and the environment, constitutional basis for environmental protection, sustainable development and the role of law, environmental enforcement, and trade and environment.

241R, 341R. Entertainment Law. Legal aspects of producing and financing a motion picture, with minor attention to the theatre industry. Prerequisite: Law 274K, 374K, 474K, or 574K.

341S. Entertainment Industry Law. Overview of the legal problems that arise in film, theatre, television, music, and literary publishing. Issues common to all branches of the entertainment industry, like the right of publicity, copyright, and contractual protections. Prerequisite: Knowledge of business associations law is helpful but not required.

241U, 341U, 441U. Telecommunications. Effect of federal, state, and local regulation and policy on the convergence of technologies and markets in the telecommunications industry.

242M, 342M, 442M. Bankruptcy. Introduction to Title II of the United States Code and related state and federal laws: both liquidation and reorganization bankruptcy, including exemptions, discharge of debt, avoidance of powers of trustees, and rights of various classes of creditors; jurisdiction and procedure. Prerequisite: Law 180D, 280D, 380D, or 480D.

242N, 342N. Advanced Bankruptcy. Advanced bankruptcy issues frequently encountered in both complex and ordinary bankruptcy proceedings. Prerequisite: Credit or registration for Law 242M, 342M, or 442M.

142R. Bankruptcy Workshop. Representation of debtors and secured creditors in chapter 11 bankruptcy. Further study and application of the basic concepts of business bankruptcy, with emphasis on structuring and drafting.

242S, 342S. Bankruptcy Reorganization. Advanced course on the application of chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to the reorganization of business entities. Prerequisite: Law 242M, 342M, or 442M.

343C. United States Law and Legal Research, Introduction. Prerequisite: Admission to the Master of Laws degree program.

243E, 343E. The Emergence of Modern European Law. Historical and cultural development of modern European law on the Continent and in England. Differences between English and American laws.

243G, 343G. East European Law in Transition. The collapse of socialist law in Eastern Europe and the subsequent problems and progress of law reform.

243L, 343L. Latin American Law: Survey. Short general and historical introduction, followed by presentation of the main common problems of Latin American countries, including the weakness of national integration and the role of the military in politics, and by a country-by-country survey, showing how these problems are manifest in constitutions and main laws of Latin America.

243S, 343S. United States Trade and Investment in Mexico. Substantive law found in treaties, Mexican commercial law, and selected United States tax and trade policies; application of the law to the key issues in a major and growing relationship in which Texas plays a dominant role.

243T, 343T. International Tort Law. In-depth analysis of some of the common problems and current methodology in American, German, and English modern tort laws. This is both an advanced torts and accident compensation course and an introduction to the comparative method.

344. International Business Transactions. Problems confronting exporters, importers, and firms doing business abroad; emphasizes American and foreign tariff, antitrust, corporation, and arbitration law, and the European Union.

344C. Transnational Business Transactions. Structuring, negotiation, and documentation of transnational business transactions, considered from the standpoint of a practicing transnational lawyer who represents both United States-based and foreign-based enterprise.

245, 345, 445. Products Liability. Problems of preventing and compensating harm attributable to dangerous or defective products through regulation by government agencies, the judicial process, and market forces. Prerequisite: Law 227 and 327, Law 427, or Law 527.

245C, 345C. Texas Consumer Protection. A brief overview of the primary common law causes of action available to purchasers of real property, goods, and services. Case law under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Article 21.21 of the Texas Insurance Code.

245D, 345D. Consumer Protection (Deceptive Trade Practices Act). Overview of the primary common law causes of action available to purchasers of real property, goods, and services. Case law under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Article 21.21 of the Texas Insurance Code. Law 245D, 345D and 379M (Topic: Consumer Protection) may not both be counted.

346K. Negotiation. An exploration, largely through simulated exercises, of the lawyer's role in the negotiation of transactions.

346L. Negotiation in Criminal Cases. An exploration, largely through simulated exercises, of the prosecutor's and defense attorney's roles in the negotiation of criminal cases. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Law 346L and 379M (Topic: Negotiation in Criminal Cases) may not both be counted.

147. Basic Business and Financial Concepts. Brief introduction to basic business and financial concepts (such as financial statements, equity and debt financing, securities transactions) for students with little or no business background. Three lecture hours a week for one month. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. May not be counted by students with credit for any of the following: Law 274K, 374K, 474K, 574K; more than six semester hours of undergraduate coursework in accounting; or more than three courses in economics or business.

147L. Business and Investment Math for Lawyers. Introduction to basic vocabulary, concepts, and numbers of investing and business. The basics of investing and some business issues, including corporate capital structure, and an introduction to the framework of accounting. Law 147L and 179M (Topic: Business and Investment Math for Lawyers) may not both be counted. May not be counted by students with credit for any of the following: Law 254J, 354J, 454J, 554J, 274K, 374K, 474K, 574K.

147M, 247M. Fundamentals of Business. Basic vocabulary and concepts of business and finance.

248C, 348C, 448C. Civil Rights Litigation. A basic introduction to the theory and practice of suing under state and federal statutory and constitutional law for redress of harm to one's civil rights by the government or its agents. The course balances the traditional approach of exposing students to litigation strategies with that of relating the rule of law to society.

248D, 348D, 448D. Americans with Disabilities. The history of disability law, the trends in federal rulings, and emerging issues as Congress debates new legislation related to persons with disabilities. Law 248D, 348D, 448D and 379M (Topic: Americans with Disabilities) may not both be counted.

248E, 348E, 448E. Protection of Human Rights in International Law. An overview of the evolution of international human rights law, including the contours of various rights, their differences from domestic civil rights, and ongoing debates over cultural relativity of rights. Law 248E, 348E, 448E and 379M (Topic: Protection of Human Rights in International Law) may not both be counted.

249, 349, 449. Children and the Law. Survey of important legal problems involving children and their relationships to their families and to the state (including the public education system).

249C, 349C. Juvenile Justice (Modern). The unique legal procedure that constitutes the juvenile justice system; social issues such as safe schools, safe streets, juvenile gang control, and juvenile curfew controls.