Course Descriptions
Advanced Constitutional Law
This two-credit seminar is a survey of major theories of constitutional interpretation and judicial review. The readings consist primarily of excerpts from law review articles and other scholarly literature rather than cases. Grades are based on class participation and short papers reflecting on the readings. The seminar satisfies the perspectives requirement. Students who wish to write a research paper in connection with the seminar may request permission to enroll for an additional credit.
Advanced Criminal Law
Professor Dwight—Aarons Spring 2010
This course is about corporate criminal liability (also commonly known as white collar crime). It deals with selected substantive criminal law and procedural areas important when dealing with business or corporate clients. Course coverage includes the study and application of several federal criminal statutes, and some state common law doctrines. We will also examine subjects of particular concern to prosecutors and defense counsel in business or corporate criminal law cases.
Our inquiry will proceed on two levels. One is doctrinal, and fairly technical coverage of particular crimes and statutes. The other is more theoretical, open ended, and policy oriented. The policy exploration will be on how we hold corporations, with no soul to damn, no body to kick, as criminally liable and under what circumstances should individuals be held liable for wrongdoing in organizational settings.
PLANNING AND DRAFTING COMPONENT
Planning and drafting credit is available. To earn this credit students will complete two drafting assignments, likely amendments to federal criminal statutes. Besides proposing an amendment to existing law, the assignments will require that students write a detailed legal memorandum to the legislative sponsor of the provision. The final grade for the planning and drafting component is reported separately from the course grade and an hour of credit will be earned toward graduation.
EXAMINATION AND GRADES
The course grade will be based largely on the final exam. The final exam will consist of a factual hypothetical and a policy question. Students will be graded on how well they are able to identify the appropriate legal issue, state the applicable rule of law and apply that law to the hypothetical. The policy question will be graded on a student's ability to discuss thematic and practical concerns discussed during the course. A student may receive a modest increase in the final grade based on that student's outstanding and particularly noteworthy—not merely frequent -- class participation throughout the semester.
Anatomy of an Historic Building Rehabilitation Transaction
A two credit hour seminar in which the aspects of an historic tax credit transaction are considered, including the philosophy behind preservation, navigating the federal and state agency approval processes, entity choices, development and operating concerns, documentation, leasing restrictions, due diligence, construction issues, financing choices, and the current structure models. Knowledge of business entities and basic tax law is helpful but not required.
The seminar is offered by Carolyn Rowland, the 2010 spring semester Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law Visiting Professor of Corporate Governance and Investor Rights. Professor Rowland is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of the Bryan Cave law firm where her practice is focused on low-income housing tax credit, historic rehabilitation tax credit, and new market tax credit transactions.
In addition to Anatomy of an Historic Building Rehabilitation Transaction, Professor Rowland will also be teaching Business Associations in the Spring 2010 semester.
Anglo American Legal Heritage
Prof. Davies
This course will be a two hour seminar that will satisfy the Perspectives Requirement (but not the writing requirement).
This course will provide the students with the opportunity to read historical materials and commentaries that pertain to the emergence of the English legal system and the common law. The materials run from early English institutions and Magna Carta (1215) up to the English institutions and common law doctrines that shaped the early American understanding of law.
Students will be required to compile a journal of their assessments of the readings. Additionally, the class will be run as a seminar, and each student will be assigned to take the lead in presenting and discussing a reading assignment.
Behavioral Law and Economics Seminar
Suppose you are given $100 with one condition. You need to share some portion of that $100 with another person. If the other person accepts your offer, then you can keep the balance. But if that other person rejects your offer, then both of you get nothing. How much should you offer?
This seminar studies the policy implications of behavioral economics. In contrast to the standard rational model of economic behavior, human beings' cognitive abilities and willpower are limited. Moreover individuals do not always act in their self-interest, but can act generously even when contrary to their economic self-interest. Because of this, individuals frequently act in ways that depart systematically from the predictions of economists’ standard models. Behavioral economics attempts to understand these departures and, more generally, integrate psychologists’ understanding of human behavior into economic analysis. What is the role of government if individuals make mistakes or have self-control problems that make them act against their own well-being? How can the government incorporate our understanding of actual behavior to model the impact of policy interventions? These issues have taken increased importance in today's financial crisis. The Obama Administration is also considering behavioral economics in addressing its implications in the areas of health, finance, media, law, and politics. This seminar does not require a background in economics, will have no exams, and will be graded on the basis of a 20-25 page research paper that satisfies the expository writing requirement.
Business Torts
Over the past decade, there has been a significant evolution in the relationship among antitrust, business tort, and unfair competition law. The course will focus on the developments in business torts, and in particular, how the law should regulate, promote, or discourage competitive behavior in the marketplace. The course will survey the fields of unfair competition, commercial disparagement and defamation, interference torts, the torts of fraud and negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of trade secrets, and state consumer fraud.
Children and the Law: Education Advocacy
This course will explore current issues in the law of education as it affects students in elementary and secondary schools, with a focus on strategies for representing parents and students in education cases. Topics will include among others: student freedom of expression, equal educational opportunity, educational adequacy and quality, the rights of students with disabilities, school suspension and expulsion, and others. The course will be aligned with the College of Law's Children's Advocacy Network-Lawyers Education Advocacy Resource Network (CAN-LEARN) Project.
Commercial Law
Prof. Plank
Substantive Subject Matter: Uniform Commercial Code (the “UCC”).
Comprehensive coverage of article 9 of the UCC, Secured transactions. Creation and perfection of security interests in personal property to secure payment of debts and the sale of payment obligations; continuation of security interests; priority among security interests and other interests; realizing on collateral in case of default; brief introduction (less than 1 week) to those elements of the Bankruptcy Code that affect secured creditors. 75-80% of the course.
Basics of negotiable instruments (like checks and notes) under Article 3 of the UCC. Elements of a negotiable instrument; transfer of negotiable instruments; liability of parties to a negotiable instrument; qualification as and rights of a holder in due course. 20-25% of the course.
The policy reasons behind the statutes, the incentives that various rules create, methods of avoiding uncertainties in the statutes, and the business practices and background behind the transactions.
Skills Development: Statutory analysis and interpretation.
Methodology: Analysis by students in class of short problems (around 145, with an average of 2-3 subparts) applying the UCC and (in a few instances, other statutes); analysis of few cases (usually only 2) interpreting Article 9.
Text and Materials:
Steven L. Harris and Charles W. Mooney, Jr., Security Interests in Personal Property (4th ed. 2006).
A copy of the Uniform Commercial Code. This appears in the latest version of Douglas G. Baird et al., Commercial and Debtor-Creditor Law: Selected Statutes. You may use an earlier edition, but you may have to pay attention to the differences in the editions.
A supplement on negotiable instruments prepared by me.
Class Preparation and Course Administration:
To accommodate a few anticipated class cancellations, classes run 60 minutes instead of 50 minutes, and there will be nine fewer classes, that is, 47 classes instead of 56 classes.
Preparation for class and attendance are important to obtain the benefits of the course and also to enjoy the course.
The grade is based on a three-hour, open book, comprehensive essay exam.
Consumer Protection Law Seminar (2)
This seminar surveys some of the common law and federal and state statutory and regulatory materials affecting consumers as buyers, borrowers, and lessees. We will look at: (1) the law of advertising and marketing; (2) consumer credit regulation; (3) consumer warranty law; and (4) consumer privacy issues. This area of law is continually confronted with new issues and concerns, ingenious ways to defraud consumers, and corresponding policy responses.
Credit: Origination and Collection; Advanced and Applied Commercial Law (3)
Prof. Chobot
What can happen to an extension of credit during its lifecycle? There can be an inability or unwillingness of the obligor to pay, defenses and counterclaims can arise, or the obligor can become subject to a bankruptcy proceeding. How does a commercial lawyer deal with these problems and impediments in documenting and negotiating these extensions of credit?
Using a discussion format, this course will consider three of the most common extensions of credit to businesses in the United States: installment sales of goods, secured loans, and equipment leases. The course will explore the fundamental characteristics of these transactions, develop an understanding of the Uniform Commercial Code and Bankruptcy Code implications and impacts, and consider and discuss all of the major impediments to collection that can arise. Using this information, we will explore the parameters for the documentation and negotiation of these transactions to mitigate and manage these credit risks.
Student teams will prepare and negotiate sets of credit documents. The course will also consider some inherent limitations of commercial credit documentation. Students will be exposed to basic commercial credit transactional documentation, applicable provisions ofUCC Articles 1,2, 2A and 9, the Bankruptcy Code, and case law and articles on these subjects.
Prerequisite: Commercial Law; Debtor/Creditor also helpful, but not essential and not a prerequisite. This course satisfies the planning and drafting requirement.
Criminal Law Seminar: Death Penalty (2)
Prof. Aarons
The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the infliction of "cruel and unusual punishments." Yet, it has only been since the late 20th century that Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, particularly with respect to the death penalty, has developed into a series of complex and somewhat inconsistent rulings, all designed to ensure that the judgment of death is appropriate in each individual case. Virtually no one is neutral on whether society's most awesome legal action -- the taking of a human life as punishment for crime -- should continue to be used or on how the death penalty has affected this nation. On the one hand, there is a generally perceived public and legislative consensus on the continued validity of the ultimate criminal sanction. For example, since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty did "not invariably" violate the Eighth Amendment, more than 1,057 persons (and counting) have been executed in the U.S. On the other hand, the death penalty continues to be attacked on a number of levels -- philosophically, morally, administratively and, most certainly, legally. This has resulted in nearly 3,300 persons presently residing on death row.
The death penalty continues to generate debate and effect public policy. For example: In 2000 and 2002, comprehensive reports by academics charged that the United States' system of capital punishment was fraught with errors. The federal government issued a comprehensive
report in 2000, detailing statistical information on the federal death penalty. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded criminal defendants, and in 2005 the Court ruled that execute those who committed capital crime when they were 16
and 17 years' old. In 2008, the Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of methods of execution and whether child rapists can be sentenced to death. Either ruling is likely to seriously impact the future of capital punishment.
In Tennessee: in 2000, after a 40-year lull, the state resumed executions with the death of Robert Glen Coe. Sedley Alley was executed in 2006 and Philip Workman in 2007. Several other capital cases are now in the last stages of litigation. Some claim that there are factually innocent inmates on Tennessee's death row. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded a Tennessee capital case, strongly suggesting that DNA evidence exonerated the defendant's 20 year old conviction. In 2007, the American Bar Association issued an assessment of Tennessee's death penalty practices and found fault with the current system and recommended a moratorium. The Tennessee General Assembly is currently studying the state's death penalty.
This course considers the death penalty and issues surrounding its administration. An important part of the class is an all-day field trip to Riverbend Correctional Institution in Nashville, during the first part of the semester. A local prosecutor and defense attorney, who have handled capital cases, visit the class, and share their views with students. The course focuses upon several aspects of the Eighth Amendment and the death penalty, including a review of major United States Supreme Court cases and an exploration of the death penalty from both theoretical and practical perspectives.
This course deals with a controversial subject. It requires students to continually consider and evaluate their own lawyering skills, and own ethical values. At bottom, students will be asked to consider the validity of the rule of law as it relates to death as punishment. A course requirement is a 20 to 30 page paper of publishable quality, which will satisfy the expository writing requirement. The class meets once a week for two hours and students may be assigned roles in mock proceedings. An important course requirement is class discussion: If you are unwilling or unable to read approximately 40 pages per week and attend a two-hour class during which you will discuss the readings and related topics, then this course is not for you.
Class Limit: 16 students
Debtor Creditor
Prof. Plank
Substantive Subject Matter: Bankruptcy Law
The fundamental elements of federal bankruptcy law; the organization of the United States Bankruptcy Code; the difference between liquidation and reorganization for individuals and business entities; the bankruptcy estate available for distribution to creditors; determining and valuing the claims of creditors in the bankruptcy proceeding; the automatic stay of creditor collection efforts; the bankruptcy trustee's powers to avoid unperfected security interests, preferential transfers, and fraudulent conveyances; the trustee's power to assume or reject executory contracts and leases; and priority in distribution from the bankruptcy estate. Brief analysis of state debt collection law consisting of the state law methods of obtaining liens on a debtor's property to collect a debt.
The policy reasons behind the law, the incentives that various bankruptcy rules create, and methods of avoiding the consequences of bankruptcy laws.
Skills Development: Statutory analysis and interpretation.
Methodology: Analysis by students in class of short problems (around 45, containing an average of 3-1/2 subparts each) using the Bankruptcy Code and other statutes; analysis of cases (around 46) interpreting bankruptcy statutes.
Primary Purpose: Providing a fundamental understanding of bankruptcy law for both a bankruptcy specialist or a general practitioner who wants to structure transactions for clients, litigate on behalf of clients, or advise clients with an appreciation for those aspects of bankruptcy law that will affect clients in a large variety of matters, including commercial transactions, torts, the environment, and domestic relations.
Secondary Purpose: Because of the necessity of translating non-bankruptcy law into the bankruptcy forum, the course presents an opportunity to examine important concepts of non-bankruptcy law, such as property, contract rights, corporations, torts, and environmental law.
Text and Materials:
Charles J. Tabb and Ralph Brubaker, Bankruptcy Law: Principles, Policies, and Practice (Lexis Nexis 2d. ed. 2006).
The Bankruptcy Code. This appears in the latest version of Douglas G. Baird et al., Commercial and Debtor-Creditor Law: Selected Statutes. You may use an earlier edition or other books, but the version you use must include the 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code.
A supplement prepared by me that contains additional problems, cases, and notes.
Class Preparation and Course Administration:
To accommodate a few anticipated class cancellations, classes will run 60 minutes instead of 50 minutes, and there will be 35 classes instead if 42 classes. Consistent attendance and preparation are necessary for understanding and enjoying the subject matter. The grade is based on a three hour, completely open book (no limitations) essay exam.
Disability Law
Prof. Long
This course provides an overview of disability law with a major emphasis on the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Course will focus on many of the policy issues that arise in the area of disability law examining how laws impact the lives of people with disabilities in such areas as employment discrimination, public accommodations, housing, and education, with a particular emphasis on employment discrimination. The course will survey relevant cases, statutes, articles, and legal doctrines and explore how this area of law reflects societal attitudes towards people who are perceived as having or not having disabilities. In addition to statutes and case law this course will introduce students to social science research addressing salient disability issues in contemporary society.
Domestic Violence Clinic Independent Study
Professor Smith
A 3-hour Domestic Violence Clinic Independent Study will be offered to approximately four third year law students. Domestic Violence Clinic Independent Study students, working under the direct supervision of Donna Smith, will have the opportunity to represent domestic violence victims in Knox County Fourth Circuit Court litigating contested Orders of Protection. Court is held on Thursdays and students will be expected to be available for court either on Thursday mornings (8-12) or Thursday afternoons (1-4:30). Students will be responsible for adequately completing their clinic responsibilities which include but are not limited to attending court on Thursdays, attending team meetings, attending individual meetings with their clinic supervisor as needed, and keeping a weekly time sheet and journal regarding their clinic experiences and reflections. The time sheet and journal must be turned in to Professor Smith at the end of the semester no later than the last day scheduled for Fall 2009 final examinations.
Students who would like to be considered for the Domestic Violence Clinic Independent Study component of the course must submit a brief (1 typed page) statement to Professor Smith no later than April 14, 2009 by 3:00 p.m. at DHSAttorney@comcast.net . There is no set format for the Statement but here are some things that we will be looking for:
- Why you are interested in participating in the Domestic Violence Independent Study.
- Do you have an interest in practicing family law?
- Do you have any professional or volunteer experience working with domestic violence?
- Do you have any experience working in a clinic or legal practice?
- Do you have a record of independent academic, professional or volunteer work which establishes a record of being a “self-starter?
- Any other relevant knowledge, skills, or experience that you could bring to the experience.
The proposal must also include your name and contact information, including your preferred e-mail address, and whether you will be available on Thursday mornings or afternoons.
Employment Discrimination Law
Prof. Hirsch
This course surveys the major federal statutes dealing with discrimination in employment, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In reviewing these acts, the course will consider discrimination based on an employee’s status (e.g., race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, and disability), sexual harassment, reverse discrimination, and affirmative action. Finally, it will examine some practical aspects of practice in this area, particularly administrative requirements for pursuing discrimination litigation.
Environmental Law Clinic (3)
(Subject to revision)
The Environmental Law Clinic provides law students an opportunity to develop the skills required to successfully respond to specific environmental challenges in practice. Students will help local governments, state agencies, business interests, and non-profit organizations develop quality land use and growth management policies and practices.
Law students in this Clinic will coordinate with graduate students from ecology, environmental design, forest and wildlife management, and other disciplines. This opportunity will allow students and faculty to work with other disciplines in integrated environmental decision-making and problem-solving thus improving their ability to understand, communicate with, and influence other disciplines.
The Clinic has two components:
1. Classroom time will be held jointly with students from other disciplines and will involve reading assignments, traditional lectures, speakers, and discussion. Attendance is mandatory.
2. The experiential component involves an average of 8-10 hours per week during a semester. Students work on legal aspects of environmentally-related issues confronting state agencies, local governments, and non-profits. Students will also respond to more time-sensitive research requests that come in to the clinic throughout the course of the semester. The students’ learning is directly supervised by the faculty clinical director.
Students engage in at least one substantial piece of research and writing as a class paper. These projects may include expository writings, policy papers, educational materials, or operative legal documents.
Environmental Law Seminar (867001)
This course will explore selected issues in environmental lawyering in the United States, with a heavy emphasis on environmental justice and community lawyering. The course will begin with an explication of the theoretical, rule-based, and methodological underpinnings of the environmental justice movement and the roles that lawyers play in representing environmental and community clients. To understand the multi-faceted roles that are required in environmental lawyering, readings, case studies, and simulations will be used. Applied research projects, referred from organizations and groups working on real life environmental issues, will be available for students to fulfill the Law School’s expository writing requirement. Students will also have the option to write on a pure research topic in this dynamic field, which could include issues as diverse as energy extraction, children’s health, Native American concerns, water pollution, air pollution, toxic chemicals, public participation, brownfields, etc. The course is limited to 16 students.
Employment Law Seminar
Prof. Long
This seminar will examine selected topics in employment law. The primary focus of the course will be on the draft chapters of the Restatement of Employment Law, which includes such topics as employment contracts, wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, workplace privacy, and related workplace torts. However, if time permits, the seminar will cover other labor and employment-related topics. Students will be expected to write a research paper that satisfies the expository writing requirement. Enrollment is limited to 15 students.
937 Estate Planning Seminar
Prof. Goodwin
(2) After a brief consideration of the ethical conflicts that can occur in the estate planning process, the course focuses on drafting two legal documents commonly used in planning for estates of $10 million and under, the life insurance trust and the will (the latter employing the Federal Estate and Gift Tax Unified Credit and marital deduction). Class time will be spent on understanding the provisions of these instruments, including the possible interaction of certain clauses. Students are then required to assemble the articles and clauses studied in class into a finished work product and to draft letters to the client and fiduciaries explaining the legal documents. The course seeks to simulate the production of legal documents as is typically expected of a beginning lawyer in an established trusts and estates practice, with emphasis on a polished work product, including appropriate communications with clients. Limited enrollment.
Prerequisites: Gratuitous Transfers (935) and Wealth Transfer Taxation (973). Recommended: Fundamental Concepts of Income Taxation (818).
European Union Law: Commerce (2 credit hours)
Fall 2009 – Professor Jeffrey Kelleher
The European Union comprises 27 countries, extending from Sweden to Greece, Poland, and Portugal. It is an economic unit, within which goods, services, workers, and capital move freely across national borders, more freely in some respects than within the United States. This freedom is maintained by an advanced system of laws that are supreme over the national laws of the member states.
The US and EU between them produce more than 60% of the world’s economic output. Americans do more business with the EU, by far, than any other region. The EU Law is a required course in every law school in Europe. Any American who expects to represent multinational clients will be disadvantaged without comparable training. For those headed for government service, the EU is increasingly becoming a political union and a free-standing actor on the international stage.
This course will examine how EU law is made, interpreted, and applied. It will also examine the substantive content of the law governing free movement of goods, services, and capital, using mainly European sources. There is no prerequisite.
European Union Law: Rights
Professor Robert Blitt
Traditional courses in European Union (EU) Law focus primarily on an examination of trade and common market related questions. This seminar takes the novel approach of introducing students to the EU’s burgeoning legal and constitutional processes by exploring “next generation” issues, including the status of fundamental human rights in the EU, the division of powers between member states and the Union, and the EU’s role within the international system, particularly as it relates to questions of foreign policy, security, and development.
A survey of the history and evolution of the EU will provide students with a critical understanding key EU institutions, including the Commission, Parliament, Council, and Court of Justice, as well as core documents, including relevant treaties, charters, and decisions. With this institutional and documentary foundation in place, students will analyze substantive thematic issue areas including: free movement and other rights related to freedom, security and justice, common foreign and security policy, and EU institution-member state-international community relations. Primary texts, including the EU treaties, Court of Justice jurisprudence, and regulations, directives, and decisions will be considered, as well as the role of other European agencies, and how they interrelate to the primary institutions.
Federal Sentencing Law & Policy (3)
Prof. Coffin
Courses addressing substantive and procedural criminal law generally devote little attention to sentencing law and procedure. In the federal system, because approximately 96% of defendants proceed to sentencing on a plea of guilty, the familiar concepts of criminal law - the rules of evidence, the Fourth Amendment, and due process rights - do not play a dominant role in practice. Rather, federal criminal practice largely concerns a complex array of forces animated by the policy decisions of the United States Sentencing Commission and the arithmetic matrix of the Sentencing Guidelines, the case-based decisions of prosecutors, the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury, congressional intent as manifest in the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, and the relationship between the authority and obligations of the sentencing judge and the courts of appeals.
This course will focus on the development of federal sentencing law as a unique alchemy of constitutional, legislative, and administrative forces. Its goal will be to challenge students to grasp the complexity of the practice, both as a matter of theory and application, and to imagine ways that the system might be different.
Images Of The Law - Fall 2010
The way lawyers and legal institutions are portrayed in popular media has important implications for litigants, juries, lawmakers, and lawyers. This seminar will look at portrayals of law and the legal profession in television and film, and discuss how those do – and do not – match institutions in the real world, as well as how they influence behavior among both lawyers and non-lawyers.
Paper in lieu of exam; no expository credit. Perspective.
Independent Study Opportunity for 3Ls
Client and Witness Simulation
Credit Available: 2 hours
Limited Number of Openings Available: Contact Professor Paula Schaefer (Rm. 349 or pschaefe@utk.edu) if interested in participating.
In this independent study, students will actively participate in a semester-long online simulation of a legal dispute. At an organizational meeting at the beginning of fall semester, students will choose a character role (such as a business partner, in-house counsel, employee, etc.) and will learn about the basic framework and goals for the simulation. The set up will require students to create a dispute that could arise in business, such as fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, etc. For the rest of the semester, student participants will communicate with one another exclusively by email and will keep notes about the simulated dispute. There is no “script” – you will be creating the dispute by your conduct in the simulation.
The result of the students’ fall semester efforts will be a complex legal problem (and a large volume of electronic information) that will result in litigation in the spring semester. Students will then become the clients and witnesses in litigation – counsel will be pre-trial litigation students (in a class where the focus is litigation involving electronically stored information). The independent study students will participate in the pre-trial litigation class throughout the spring semester: hiring counsel, being interviewed and deposed, reviewing pleadings and other documents prepared by counsel, and cooperating in discovery. Students will not have to attend pre-trial litigation class every day, but will attend from time to time and will be available to their attorneys to answer questions outside of class.
Students will gain expertise in the area of the law that is the subject of their legal dispute and insight into being a client or witness in litigation. A goal of the class is to help students understand the problems associated with the increasing volume of thoughts that are recorded and stored as electronic information – and the implications of that information for clients, witnesses, transactional lawyers, and litigators.
Students will receive 1 hour of credit for fall semester and 1 hour of credit for spring semester. No credit will be awarded until the student completes the work for both semesters.
International Business Transactions
(3 credit hours)
Fall 2009 – Professor Jeffrey Kelleher
This course will examine the special issues confronting a US company that wishes to export or import, or establish its business abroad. Among the topics will be: the sources of international business law; international sales law; tariffs, quotas, subsides, and dumping; international distributorships, franchises, and subsidiaries; the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; direct investment in China, Latin America and the European Union.
Prerequisite: Business Organizations (may be taken concurrently)
International Human Rights Law
Professor Blitt
This seminar will examine the norms, institutions, and application of key international and regional human rights regimes. The substance and procedure of the United Nations human rights system (treaty and non-treaty-based mechanisms) and regional human rights systems—including the European, Inter-American, and African systems—will be explored in detail, as well as other treaties, mechanisms, and caselaw related to the development and protection of human rights. Specific topics to be covered include: individual and group rights, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as the interaction between human rights and trade, globalization, and the “war on terror”.
Prerequisite: Public International Law, or approval of the professor.
International Religious Freedom
Advanced Topics in International Law: The Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion or Belief
The course examines in detail the historical development of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, as well as the various international, regional, and municipal regimes developed to protect the right and its implementation. The work of the UN’s Human Rights Committee (HRC) and the UN special rapporteur on religious freedom, as well as other key bodies will be considered in exploring a variety of topics, including the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), church-state frameworks, proselytism, missionary and humanitarian work, democracy promotion, and inter-religious dialogue.
Prerequisite: Public International law, or approval of the professor.
Issues in the Law: Juvenile Rights and Re-Entry Practicum (2)
Over the last two decades, nearly every state has enhanced its laws allowing transfer of juveniles to adult courts for criminal prosecution. As a result, nearly 200,000 children face adult sentence each year. In Tennessee, over 1,100 inmates are currently imprisoned for alleged wrongdoings of their youth, some serving terms of life without parole - condemned to die behind bars. Advocates, experts and policy makers have begun to question such practices, calling for changes in the law, procedure, and policy to remedy this situation.
In this hands-on, practicum we will serve as a Task Force to examine the law and practice of juvenile transfer in Tennessee. As a group we will consider ways to seek to reform Tennessee transfer practices and act as advocates for youths and others affected by state transfer policies. Possible avenues of advocacy may include individual client representation in parole and other proceedings, lobbying, legislative drafting, community organizing and issuance of white papers and other reports. Given the innovative nature and limited enrollment of this course, registration will be permitted by application only.
Issues in the Law: Sexuality, Gender and The Law - Fall 2010
This course will examine the treatment of sexual orientation, along with related questions of sexuality and gender, in the American legal system. We will analyze in-depth the major Supreme Court, circuit court, and state court decisions on marriage and relationship recognition, sexual privacy, adoption, military service, gender identity, and discrimination by state and private actors. Particular attention will be paid to the legal doctrines and theories behind these cases, especially equal protection, substantive due process, and various First Amendment freedoms. Although the course will be organized around case law, it also will include discussion and a variety of readings on related political, philosophical, and policy issues.
Judicial Externship Independent Study
Prof. White
The College of Law will again offer its judicial externship program during the Spring Semester 2010. The goal of the program is to enhance traditional classroom learning by introducing students to the courtroom experience from the perspective of the state court judge. In addition to learning from court observations, the students will assist the judge in researching and drafting memoranda, opinions, and orders.
Between two and six students will be selected to participate in the four-hour judicial externship for the spring semester. The students will be assigned to work with the Criminal Courts and Chancery Courts in Knox County, Tennessee, and possibly, with other courts including the United States Magistrate Court, the Tennessee appellate courts, and the Tennessee Claims Commission. In order to participate in the program, students must be either in the second semester of their second year or in their third year of law study. Preference will be given to third-year students. Only students who have taken Criminal Procedure will be considered for the Criminal Court externships, absent exceptional circumstances.
Students selected to participate in the externship program must:
(1) meet collectively with Professor White in a series of classes designed to prepare them for the duties of their externship;
(2) work either at the court or on work assigned by the judge for 12-14 hours per week in a minimum of 3-4 hour blocks of time;
(3) complete and submit to Professor White a weekly work log and a monthly journal entry detailing their work for the court and insights gained through the externship;
(4) meet individually with Professor White and the assigned judge(s) as required; and
(5) participate in an evaluation of the externship program at the end of the semester.
Student who satisfy all of the requirements of the judicial externship program will receive four hours of pass/fail credit. Those interested in participating in the judicial externship program during spring semester 2010 must submit an (1) updated resume and (2) a Statement of Interest to Professor White at pwhite4@utk.edu no later than Monday, October 26, at 5:00 p.m. Decisions will be made before the registration deadline. The Statement of Interest should be in this format.
Law and Economics (2)
Prof. Lloyd
This course satisfies the PERSPECTIVE requirement and the EXPOSITORY WRITING requirement.
This course will explore economic analysis as it affects both legal theory and practical problems of law practice. No prior knowledge of economics is required or expected, but people with prior experience in economics are welcome. I plan to keep the course as intuitive and non-technical as possible, although we will look at option theory and risk, which will require us to use a few numbers (but no math beyond the middle school level).
Among the topics I hope to explore in the course are:
-- the economics of law firms
-- the economics of intellectual property
-- behavioral economics
-- the use of game theory in transactional practice and in litigation
-- international trade and globalization
-- political economy and the evolution of institutions
-- the effect of option theory on legal rules and on the practice of law
There will be no exam in the course. Grades will be based on class participation, class presentations, and a paper.
Because of the nature of the course, enrollment for credit will be limited to 24 students. Auditors are welcome.
Law and Medicine Seminar
Prof. King
The seminar is divided into two phases. The first 20 meetings will be devoted to a variety of subjects relating to law and medicine. These classes will address the role of the legal system in assuring quality medical care, and in protecting the safety and individual autonomy interests of patients. The primary focus will be on the professional medical liability of individual and institutional health care providers. Specifically, we will address medical malpractice liability, including the standard care, proof, causation, defenses, and damages, and protection of patient autonomy, including consent and informed consent. The remaining eight meetings will consist of the presentations and discussions of the individual research projects of the seminar members.
Prerequisites: none
Law and Public Policy
Dr. Stephens
In this course we will examine, with reference to selected issues, the performance of American courts and quasi-judicial administrative agencies in formulating and implementing public policy. Although substantial attention will be given to decisions of the United States Supreme Court, we will look at a number of state and lower federal court decisions as well as those of administrative agencies—federal, state and local—that take part in the processes of rule-making and adjudication. Educational policy will be emphasized, but we will also study recent developments in the rapidly growing field of disability law.
Law of the Workplace
Prof. Hirsch
This course will explore federal and state regulation of the employment relationship. One focus will be state common-law doctrines, particularly employment “at-will” and its erosion through contract (e.g., employee handbooks), tort (e.g., fraud and defamation), and public policy claims. Also addressed will be limits on employee conduct, including non-compete agreements and trade secret protections. Laws dealing with whistleblowers, retaliation, and workplace privacy will be explored, as will constitutional protections of employees’ free speech and free association rights. Other topics will include federal legislation on minimum wage and overtime, family and medical leave, and employee retirement systems.
Mediation Clinic
Prof. Jacobs
“To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.”—Winston Churchill
To: Students Interested in the Mediation Clinic
From: Professor Jacobs
I am very gratified by the student interest in the UT College of Law Mediation Clinic. Mediation is a sensitive and intelligent alternative dispute resolution process. As commentators have noted, a successful mediation has the potential to transform the lives of the participants and has a powerful influence upon the way that participants perceive our justice system.
The Mediation Clinic offers students the opportunity to acquire and enhance their skills as mediators in “live client” disputes. This can be an exceptional and rewarding experience, but it also entails enormous responsibility. Accordingly, I wanted briefly to alert students to the Clinic’s structure in order that each of you can make an informed decision as to whether you wish to participate.
The Clinic has two components: (1) a classroom component; and (2) an experiential component.
- The classroom component will require a significant time commitment at the beginning of the semester in order to prepare for the “live client” mediations, perhaps even Saturday sessions. There also will be a regular class throughout the semester that will involve reading assignments, traditional lectures, speakers, simulations, and discussion.
- The experiential component involves mandatory appearances in the Knox County General Sessions Court and scheduled appearances in other fora. The General Sessions Court docket requires that each student be available at the Court every week during the semester either on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. until at least 12:00 p.m. While I will make every effort to accommodate student preferences, we must ensure that each of these days is adequately staffed.
I realize that this is quite a time commitment for 3 hours. However, given UT College of Law’s desire to offer students a meaningful clinical experience, it is a commitment that students must make. At the risk of being redundant, the General Session Courts and other institutions have entrusted UT Law students with this public service and rely upon us to fulfill it professionally, responsibly and competently. These are not simulations; litigants will rely upon student expertise to guide them through the process and the system and to help them resolve their disputes. I urge you to carefully consider whether you are able or willing to make this time commitment. Due to the Clinic’s limited enrollment, attendance will be mandatory, and a student’s grade will be severely impacted by even one absence.
I want to conclude by thanking you again for your interest in the Mediation Clinic. I am very proud and excited to be a part of this program, and I look forward to working with those of you who enroll.
Prerequisites: You must have had ADR to take this course.
Ownership and Justice (2)
The course begins with an examination of the evolution of the concept of property in the law (property as the thing vs. the right to the thing). The course then moves to focus on a series of cases that (with accompanying philosophical materials and law review articles) permit an exploration of classical and contemporary justifications of the institution of private property. The course seeks to apprehend the necessary conditions of any regime of individual ownership as well as the margins of what can be considered property. There will two short essays on assigned topics during the term and a take-home exam consisting of a number of analytical problems to be addressed by drawing upon materials covered in the course. Suggested preparation: A background in philosophy, religious studies, political theory or other field in the liberal arts, while not a prerequisite, would be helpful.
Prosecution Externship
The College of Law will offer the Prosecution Externship during the Spring 2010 Semester. Up to six students will be selected to work as externs in the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office. Students enrolled and successfully completing the course will receive six hours of graded credit.
Externs in the program will be sworn in as Assistant District Attorneys General and will be permitted to function as lawyers representing the state in criminal cases in the General Sessions and Criminal Courts of Knox County. It is expected that an extern will participate in investigating crimes, interviewing and preparing witnesses, conducting guilty plea negotiations, and conduct hearings, including guilty plea hearings, preliminary hearings, grand jury proceedings, and, perhaps trials.
Each extern will be assigned to work with an experienced Assistant District Attorney who will serve as the student’s direct supervisor.
In addition to work at the District Attorney’s office, each extern will also be required to attend externship - related classes taught by Dean Morgan. Each extern will also be required to keep an externship journal and time log which will be turned in weekly to Dean Morgan, who will meet on a regular basis with each extern to discuss issues arising in the field.
Students must have completed the following courses in order to be considered for the Prosecutor Externship: Evidence, Trial Practice, and either Investigatory or Adjudicatory Criminal Procedure. It is preferred that the students participating will have taken both Criminal Procedure classes.
Any student interested in applying to participate in the Prosecutor Externship must submit to Dean Morgan, no later than Sunday, October 25, at 5:00 p.m., (1) a current resume, including a telephone number where the student may be contacted; (2) a statement of interest, describing why the student desires to be selected; (3) a list of courses taken in law school; and (4) a list of the student’s other obligations for the Spring 2010 semester, including course load, workload, and personal responsibilities. Students who do not submit each of the required items will not be considered for the Prosecution Externship.
Dean Morgan will contact students and set up interviews on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday October 26,27, and 28. Questions and applications should be directed to Dean Morgan at kmorgan4@utk.edu.
Public Defender Externship
During Spring Semester, 2010, the College of Law will offer a course entitled Public Defender Externship, currently being taught as a branch of the Advocacy course in the Clinic. A small number of 3L’s will be selected to work in the Knox County Public Defender’s office (up to 4) or in the Federal Public Defender’s office (up to 2). Students enrolled in the program will receive six hours of College of Law credit, graded like other courses.
A student extern accepted into the program will be sworn in as an Assistant Public Defender and will be permitted to function as a lawyer representing Public Defender clients in criminal cases in the General Sessions and Criminal Courts of Knox County, or in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. It is expected that students in the program will investigate crimes, interview and prepare clients and witnesses, do research and prepare and argue motions, conduct guilty plea negotiations and conduct hearings (guilty plea hearings and preliminary hearings) to the extent the caseload and Field Supervisors permit. Each PD Extern will be assigned to one or more experienced Assistant Public Defenders who will serve as the Extern’s direct supervisors. Each Extern will also be instructed by Professor Anderson and will be expected to attend externship-related classes and to keep a journal and time log, to be turned in weekly prior to a regularly scheduled meeting with Professor Anderson. Students are expected to work an average of at least 15 hours per week in court and at the PD’s Office, in addition to an average of two hours per week in class over the course of the semester.
Prerequisites include Evidence and Trial Practice (may be taken concurrently). Having taken at least one or both criminal procedures courses (one of these courses may be taken concurrently with the externship) is ideal. Professor Anderson is teaching Adjudicatory Criminal Procedure this semester.
Please see Dean Morgan if you have any questions. Students wishing to apply for the PD Externship should submit to Dean Morgan by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 25, an application containing:
1. A current resume, including a telephone number where the student may be contacted.
2. A statement of why this externship course would be of interest to you.
3. A statement about why you would prefer representing defendants charged with state or federal crimes, if you have a preference.
3. A list of courses taken in law school; and if you are accepted into this course, what other courses (and their times) you would like to take next semester. (Most criminal court work in Knox County occurs in the morning – so you would need to avoid morning classes.)
4. Any outside employment during the fall term (for whom and how many hours per week you plan to work). (Outside employment is discouraged because it may interfere with externship scheduling and experiences.) Any personal responsibilities that might interfere with externship practice.
5. Whether you have taken or will be taking Evidence and Trial Practice.
The preferred application method is by email to kmorgan4@ utk.edu , so that she can respond immediately about setting up an interview time on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, October 26-28.
Public Interest Lawyering: Education Law Practicum
Fall 2010 - Spring 2011
Professor Dean Hill Rivkin
drivkin@utk.edu (Room 382)
This 6 hour, two semester course, which is limited to 10 students (2Ls and 3Ls are eligible), will develop students’ public interest lawyering skills in the context of education advocacy. Representation of students in status offense cases in Knox County Juvenile Court and in administrative hearings, relationships with clients (interviewing and counseling students and parents), fact investigation, drafting documents and reports, media relations, and other skills will be emphasized. The fieldwork/service learning component of the course will focus on issues related to what has been termed ―The –School-To-Prison-Pipeline‖. These issues may include projects and cases related to truancy, alternative education, juvenile court-involved youth, youth in institutions, school discipline, school resource officers, and special education matters, particularly the provision of appropriate services to students with mental and emotional disabilities. Under the supervision of the instructors, there will be opportunities to work with experienced area practitioners, including members of the College of Law’s CAN LEARN Project (Children’s Advocacy Network—Lawyers Education Advocacy Resource Network). This Practicum will continue in the Spring semester. With the instructor’s permission, the course may fulfill the expository writing requirement.
Public International Law
Professor Robert Blitt
This seminar introduces the system of norms, rules, institutions, and procedures that regulate interactions among and between state and non-state actors on the international level. As part of this introduction, a number of themes will be explored, including the tensions between international law and municipal law, state sovereignty and individual human rights, and the use of force and settlement of international disputes. These themes will emerge through an examination of a variety of sources, including customary and treaty law, international and regional adjudication and arbitration, and the activity of international and regional intergovernmental bodies.
Representing Enterprises
Each student will work on simulated business transactions and complete at least one major planning and drafting project related to each transaction. The transactions will vary from year to year and from section to section. The types of transactions on which projects may be based include the formation of a new business, the acquisition of an existing business, the development of a real estate project, various financing transactions, and corporate reorganization.
Prerequisites or Co-requisites:
- Fundamental Concepts of Income Taxation
- Business Associations
- Income Taxation of Business Organizations
- Commercial Law
- Land Finance Law
- Contract Drafting
Up to 2 of which may be taken concurrently with Representing Enterprises.
Smart Lawyers, Stupid Decisions
Prof. Schaefer
If you believe that only greedy, dishonest lawyers “get in trouble” (criminal charges, civil liability, disbarment, and more), this class will be enlightening and essential to your practice. We will study how and why seemingly smart lawyers sometimes make stupid decisions. We will read their stories in case law, briefs, articles, and other documents. Students will: (1) analyze and discuss why the conduct created liability or other adverse consequences for the lawyer; (2) consider the factors that may have influenced the attorney’s behavior; and (3) begin assembling the tools that will help the student/future lawyer avoid such liability or other consequences in practice. Some topics will include: disputes between law partners, participation in illegal client conduct, and violation of fiduciary duties owed to clients. We will discuss why behavior that seems unethical but not necessarily illegal (such as having sex with a client’s spouse) may actually lead to civil liability. We will also read and discuss articles that may help you make better decisions in your practice. These articles will include topics such as modern theories of “ethical” decision making for professionals and the psychology behind subordinate attorneys following legally questionable orders from supervising lawyers. In addition to short writing assignments throughout the semester, each student will complete a research paper concerning a dilemma facing the profession.
This course satisfies the Expository Writing requirement.
Prerequisite: Legal Profession.
Space Law
Professor Reynolds
Surveys the international and domestic law of space activity, including the Outer Space Treaty, the Moon Treaty, property rights on the Moon and other celestial bodies, and federal law regulating private commercial launch activities, space tourism, private spy satellites, and more.
This is a seminar, graded based on class participation and an expository-quality paper. Numerous previous students have written papers that were published in law reviews; I provide advice to those interested in doing so.
Trademark Law and Prosecution
(2 hr., Michael “Roby” Robinson)
The first half of the semester will focus on doctrinal Trademark Law (with a
focus on Sixth and Second Circuit case law), including trademarks, service
marks, certification marks, trade names, and trade dress. The course will also
examine the overlap of trademark law with other IP protection regimes. It will
cover the history of trademark law and discern the differences between
common law, state trademark law, federal trademark law, and international
conventions. The second half of the semester will cover the practical aspects
of federal Trademark Prosecution and maintenance, examining the life of a
trademark from an actual use or intent to use perspective. The course will
cover publication and due diligence, opposition proceedings, allowance and
registration, post registration practice (including cancellation proceedings, and
practice before the TTAB. It will also examine federal trademark litigation,
including jurisdictional issues and tactical considerations, as well as the
complexities of trademarks and the Internet.
Contact Information
The University of Tennessee College of Law
Student Affairs and
Records Office
Suite 166
1505 W. Cumberland Ave.
Knoxville, Tennessee
37996-1810
Phone: 865-974-6790
Fax: 865-974-1572
The Records Office