Course Catalog

This course will explore the intersection of rights of publicity, trademark, copyright, contract, culture, technology, the "law of ideas," Free Speech, and privacy in the entertainment industries. We will focus on music, film, literature, television, and social media. Through the lenses of negotiation and litigation, we will examine the roles of those who create, collaborate, perform, disseminate, promote, merchandise, and financially support creative properties and celebrities.

• Type: Upper Class

The Zell Entrepreneurship Clinic (ZEC) supports the University's burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem by representing student-led entrepreneurial ventures as well as local startups and small businesses. Student attorneys in the ZEC encounter real-world transactional lawyering experiences with a focus on developing a business-oriented, client-centered mindset. The ZEC offers transactional and counseling legal services to startups and established small companies in the following areas: * Selecting and forming a legal entity and structuring ownership and capital * Counseling on and prosecuting intellectual property matters (e.g., copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secret) * Drafting and negotiating contracts * Advising on employment matters * Assisting on corporate fundraising and finance issues Students in the ZEC typically represent multiple clients and assume primary responsibility for all client matters under the close supervision of ZEC faculty. Student attorneys plan client matters; interview and counsel clients; draft various legal agreements, documents, correspondence and memos; prosecute patent and trademark applications; and identify and research legal issues to help their clients implement their decisions. Student attorneys also take turns offering community office hours where they provide legal information to local entrepreneurs. Furthermore, student attorneys are exposed to the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem through attendance of local events as a class. During the weekly seminar sessions, students discuss lawyering skills and values, ethical issues, client issues and some substantive law. Student attorneys review and reflect on their work and receive detailed feedback from ZEC faculty during weekly supervision meetings. There are no prerequisites for taking the ZEC. Because much of the client work will be in corporate, tax, intellectual property, employment, and other business areas, students will likely find prior course work in those areas helpful.

• Type: Clinic

Every day with regard to the environment, decisions are made and actions are taken that disproportionately impact people of color, indigenous peoples, and the poor. Can we ever achieve environmental justice through the law? This course examines whether and how our legal system can address environmental racism and other forms of environmental injustice. After covering the history of the environmental justice movement as both a social and legal phenomenon, we will explore and assess the legal frameworks available to address environmental injustice. With regard to legal frameworks, we will spend most of our time on tort, civil rights, environmental-administrative, and land use & zoning. The environmental administrative framework will include pollution control laws (e.g. Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act), utility rate-setting, management of natural resources & public lands, and climate change. Apart from traditional legal materials, we will also read social science & public health scholarship, newspaper articles, history, philosophy, and literature.

• Type: Seminar

The Clinic, which was founded in 1983, teaches students to be effective advocates for the National Wildlife Federation, other environmental justice and conservation organizations, and local governments. The course has both a clinical and a classroom component. For clinical work, students participate in administrative and civil litigation, comment on proposed rules and permits, submit public records requests, and draft legislation. Topics include environmental justice, climate change, natural resources & wildlife management, pollution control, and utility regulation. In the classroom, the focus is on representing organizations, practicing in an administrative law framework, effective client counseling, improving research skills (including through the use of AI), and obtaining public records. Students must enroll concurrently in the 4-credit clinic and the 3-credit seminar. Credits count toward New York's pro bono requirement. There are no prerequisites or corequisites, but having taken courses that cover administrative or environmental law would certainly be helpful.

• Type: Clinic

The Clinic, which was founded in 1983, teaches students to be effective advocates for the National Wildlife Federation, other environmental justice and conservation organizations, and local governments. The course has both a clinical and a classroom component. For clinical work, students participate in administrative and civil litigation, comment on proposed rules and permits, submit public records requests, and draft legislation. Topics include environmental justice, climate change, natural resources & wildlife management, pollution control, and utility regulation. In the classroom, the focus is on representing organizations, practicing in an administrative law framework, effective client counseling, improving research skills (including through the use of AI), and obtaining public records. Students must enroll concurrently in the 4-credit clinic and the 3-credit seminar. Credits count toward New York's pro bono requirement. There are no prerequisites or corequisites, but having taken courses that cover administrative or environmental law would certainly be helpful.

• Type: Clinic

This professional responsibility course is intended for students interested in careers as corporate lawyers or representing corporations and other business entities. We will focus on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and ethical issues relating to the representation of a corporation, including conflicts and their waiver, confidentiality, and client identity. We will also address the ethical obligations that corporate lawyers owe to the courts and regulators, particularly whistleblowing. In addition, we will study the role of lawyers in advising corporate boards and officers with regard to fiduciary obligations and corporate governance issues, including corporate powers, shareholder voting rights, and liability. Enterprise Organizations is a co- or pre-requisite for this class. Students may not take both this class and Corporate Lawyer: Law and Ethics for credit.

• Type: Upper Class

This course focuses on the procedural rules that regulate the use of evidence at trial. The rules covered include those relating to the competence of witnesses, the mode of examination, relevance, impeachment, character evidence, hearsay, expert evidence, privileges, and judicial notice. Particular attention is paid to the Federal Rules of Evidence.

• Type: Upper Class

The course will focus on the effective and strategic use of the Rules of Evidence in litigation. We will look in-depth at several critical areas of evidence, including impeachment, hearsay, expert testimony and privileges. Our study will include both drafting exercises (motions to admit or exclude various pieces of evidence) as well as courtroom based scenarios in which students will have to dissect and apply the various Rules. The goal of the course is for students to have a functional mastery of several critical (and challenging) areas of evidence, preparing them for future work as litigators.

• Type: Practice Simulation

For all full semester externship programs, students may add an optional graded paper or project for one, two, or three credits. The total credits for the semester cannot exceed 15 without special permission.

• Type: Externship

Students who have taken Federal Appellate Litigation Clinic I are eligible to enroll in Federal Appellate Litigation Clinic II by invitation of the professors. Faculty and invited students determine the number of credits (2-5) to be awarded.

• Type: Clinic

An intensive and critical examination of the role of federal courts in maintaining a constitutional order in the United States. Among the topics considered are justiciability, the power of Congress to control the jurisdiction of federal and state courts, Supreme Court review of state court decisions, federal habeas corpus for state prisoners, and suits challenging official action.

• Type: Upper Class

The practice/simulation course introduces students to the major categories of federal criminal investigations, to the law enforcement agencies that conduct these investigations, to the techniques they use, and to the front-line constitutional issues at stake. The course then turns to the role of the prosecutor, focusing on the critical strategic decisions made by assistant United States attorneys during grand jury investigations, plea negotiations, trial, and sentencing.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This course examines the law made by The Supreme Court concerning the freedom of speech, and the freedom and establishment of religion.

• Type: Upper Class

From fingerprints to burn marks, shoe prints to bite-marks, and dozens of other disciplines, our courts certainly have a lot of forensic science thrown at them on a daily basis. But how equipped is our legal system to properly handle scientific evidence? And what about individual lawyers and judges: can they be trusted to properly vet, scrutinize--and when necessary, exclude--forensic science disciplines they scarcely understand? This course will explore the tenuous but necessary relationship between forensic science and the law, which begins with the fundamental difference between ?truth? as defined by science and as defined by law. From that foundation, we will consider how various forensic techniques have come to be accepted, admitted--and in many cases later repudiated--by our judicial system. We will study what goes right, what goes wrong and how we as lawyers can work to improve the system of forensic science in America.

• Type: Seminar

The Full-Time Externship Program offers an exciting opportunity to augment classroom study with real-world work experience. Students (under the guidance of both a Law School faculty member and a field placement site supervisor) immerse themselves full-time in legal work with local, state, and federal governmental agencies, and with nonprofit organizations located throughout the country and world. The externship is expected the complete the student's personal agenda of study, complementing courses carefully chosen at the Law School and enabling the student to pursue sophisticated work and research in a particular field beyond our curricular offerings. Students will receive twelve credits total, eleven for the field work portion and one for the accompanying seminar (Law 941). Since field placement proposals must be approved in advance, EVEN IF A STUDENT DOES NOT HAVE A PLACEMENT FINALIZED, the student must apply for a Full-Time Externship by the deadline, which is April 1 for a Fall Externship, and November 1 for a Winter Externship. If a student's placement is not secured, the student is welcome, even encouraged, to propose a few potential placements for consideration. For more information, visit our website at https://michigan.law.umich.edu/academics/experiential-learning/externships or contact [email protected]. We are happy to meet with students to answer questions, give guidance on potential placements, provide information on how to apply, etc. Please note that if students are interested in the Geneva, India, or South Africa Externship Programs, they should visit the websites for each of those programs separately, as their details and deadlines are different.

• Type: Externship

This contemporaneous, one-credit seminar is held every semester as a required companion to the Full-Time Externship (Law 940). For more information, please visit the course description for Law 940.

• Type: Externship

Spend a semester in Geneva working with leading intergovernmental and nongovernmental institutions during the winter term. Students are immersed in the work of these international institutions and closely supervised by their legal staffs to explore how international legal regimes intersect with such diverse fields as trade, human rights, intellectual property, environment, telecommunications, and health. Externs participate in a contemporaneous seminar intended to provide them substantive context for their externships. Students apply in the Winter before the program begins the following January. For more information, visit our website at https://www.law.umich.edu/curriculum/externshipsandindependentstudy/Pages/default.aspx or contact [email protected]. We are happy to meet with students to answer questions, give guidance on potential placements, provide information on how to apply, etc. Further, every January we hold an informational meeting for all of our international externship programs, so please watch for that announcement.

• Type: Externship

This contemporaneous seminar is intended to provide substantive context for the Geneva Externship field work (Law 947). It provides an environment for students to share their work experiences and reflect on the varying approaches to international problem-solving arising at the organizations where they are placed. In addition, students will attend guest lectures with legal and policy advisors at international and nongovernmental organizations, who will discuss current issues of international law, describe the role of international organizations in various fields of international law, and describe their individual career paths. Students apply in the Winter before the program begins the following January. For more information, visit our website at https://www.law.umich.edu/curriculum/externshipsandindependentstudy/Pages/default.aspx or contact [email protected]. We are happy to meet with students to answer questions, give guidance on potential placements, provide information on how to apply, etc. Further, every January we hold an informational meeting for all of our international externship programs, so please watch for that announcement.

• Type: Externship

History in Constitutional Litigation --- This course explores the role of historical arguments in constitutional litigation, focusing on how lawyers marshal historical evidence to advance doctrinal claims and how judges assess and interpret that history in the process of discerning constitutional meaning. We will engage with a range of recent constitutional cases -- including those concerning the Second Amendment, abortion rights, religious liberty, and immigration -- to examine both the methodologies used by litigators to make historical arguments, and the standards and frameworks courts employ to assess those arguments. Special attention will be given to the role of amicus briefs filed by historians and legal scholars, and the tensions between historical scholarship and legal advocacy. Through close reading of litigation materials, judicial opinions, and relevant historical texts, students will develop critical skills in assessing historical claims, understanding originalist and non-originalist approaches, and crafting historically grounded legal arguments.

• Type: Seminar

Human trafficking encompasses all forms of forced labor and it occurs around the world. Migrants are significantly more vulnerable to forced labor. The Human Trafficking and Immigration Clinic (HTC) works to combat human trafficking by: (1) providing direct representation to survivors of forced labor; and (2) developing disruptive, systemic solutions to reduce vulnerability to exploitation, specifically in the area of assisting responsible business entities in reducing the risk of forced labor in their operations. Law students enrolled in the HTC will engage in a combination of individual representation, compliance, and systemic reform work. The direct representation work of HTC is best described as a poverty law practice on behalf of survivors of human trafficking and their families. The clients are predominantly immigrants and thus the practice is almost exclusively in the area of immigration but we also assist clients with post adjudication criminal relief, access to public benefits, and victim-witness advocacy. The reform work of HTC focuses on understanding current and prospective human rights due diligence-aligned legislation and developing tools for use by companies (and organizations that advocate for responsible business conduct) to comply with these regulations. Overall, students in the HTC will learn and practice collaboration, problem solving, fact investigation, legal analysis, counseling, and advocacy skills. Students are responsible, under supervision, for all of the cases and projects within the HTC. The HTC is a 7 credit course and meets the New York Pro-Bono requirement.

• Type: Clinic

Human trafficking encompasses all forms of forced labor and it occurs around the world. Migrants are significantly more vulnerable to forced labor. The Human Trafficking and Immigration Clinic (HTC) works to combat human trafficking by: (1) providing direct representation to survivors of forced labor; and (2) developing disruptive, systemic solutions to reduce vulnerability to exploitation, specifically in the area of assisting responsible business entities in reducing the risk of forced labor in their operations. Law students enrolled in the HTC will engage in a combination of individual representation, compliance, and systemic reform work. The direct representation work of HTC is best described as a poverty law practice on behalf of survivors of human trafficking and their families. The clients are predominantly immigrants and thus the practice is almost exclusively in the area of immigration but we also assist clients with post adjudication criminal relief, access to public benefits, and victim-witness advocacy. The reform work of HTC focuses on understanding current and prospective human rights due diligence-aligned legislation and developing tools for use by companies (and organizations that advocate for responsible business conduct) to comply with these regulations. Overall, students in the HTC will learn and practice collaboration, problem solving, fact investigation, legal analysis, counseling, and advocacy skills. Students are responsible, under supervision, for all of the cases and projects within the HTC. The HTC is a 7 credit course and meets the New York Pro-Bono requirement.

• Type: Clinic

This course will explore the legal, historical and policy perspectives that shape U.S. law governing immigration and citizenship. The course provides a general overview of the constitutional and international law foundations underlying immigration regulation, the history of immigration law in the U.S., the source and scope of congressional and executive branch power in the realm of immigration, and the role of the judiciary in making and interpreting immigration law. The course will closely examine the admission, exclusion, removal and naturalization of noncitizens in the United States.

• Type: Upper Class

The India Externship offers students the chance to spend the Winter semester working for an Indian non-profit, government agency, or court in the city of your choice. Students work with our administration and faculty to find a suitable placement. Given the depth and breadth of work available in India, it should not be difficult to find something that meets your interests. Past students report rich experiences working side-by-side with top-notch Indian lawyers on pressing legal matters and policy issues. Students apply in the Winter before the program begins the following January. For more information, visit our website at https://michigan.law.umich.edu/resource-center/india-externship or contact [email protected]. We are happy to meet with students to answer questions, give guidance on potential placements, provide information on how to apply, etc. Further, every January we hold an informational meeting for all of our international externship programs, so please watch for that announcement.

• Type: Externship

The INHR Geneva Student Legal Advisor Program is an externship opportunity in public international law for selected LLM and JD students, with a possible "Spring Break" visit to Geneva Switzerland for the February/March UN Human Rights Council. Selected students will work with a Michigan law grad and former U.S. diplomat to serve as virtual interns for a member state to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Students will be paired with a small UN member state that lacks resources to have legal support for their delegation to the UN Human Rights Council. The students will provide legal, policy and administrative support to that government to facilitate its participation in the UN Human Rights Council and possible other UN agencies in Geneva. During the fall semester, students will be required to join a weekly 90-minute online class with students from other law schools. The live online course will provide an overview of relevant UN and international human rights law and procedures; tradecraft skills in drafting, research and negotiation; and otherwise lay the foundation to prepare students to serve in their virtual internship. In the winter term, students will be expected to review draft resolutions, conduct research and produce interventions for their employer/member state UN delegation to use and deliver during the January Universal Periodic Review and March UN Human Rights Council (HRC) sessions and related meetings. Further details on the INHR Virtual Internship Program expectations, and the type of developing country delegations whom students may work for is available at https://inhr.org/student-legal-advisors. Past students have traveled to Geneva for a week-long, self-funded, first-hand glimpse at providing diplomatic and legal work at the UN Human Rights Council. The HRC session each March usually aligns with Michigan Law's spring break and the HRC Universal Periodic Review session in May often occurs immediately after Michigan Law's exam period. Travel to Geneva and living expenses are not funded by INHR and travel cannot be guaranteed given past challenges provided by COVID-19, issues regarding receipt of a visa to Switzerland and demands of the employing delegation. Applicants interested in the Spring Break or May visit MUST be eligible for visa-free entry to Switzerland. How to Apply: To apply for the two-semester student legal advisor program, please complete this form (https://forms.gle/HsK79eKe8XBj2mSf7) by July 10th, 2023. Your application should include a copy of your transcript, resume, passport cover page, and a cover letter explaining your interest. Students selected for an interview will be contacted during the week of July 24th by Alissa Cammarata ([email protected]) Administrative Assistant for Experiential Education to set up a Zoom interview with INHR program director Eric Richardson for late July or early August. If you have any questions about the application process please contact Alissa ([email protected]). Those who pass the interview will be notified of their acceptance into the program by August 14, 2023. Delegations will be assigned around the end of October and student interests in particular regions, issues, and language skills are taken into account in pairing with an employer-delegation but cannot be guaranteed. How Credits Will Be Determined: Student participants are enrolling in a two-semester class/externship combined experience and are expected to participate for the entire school year. One credit will be given each semester, which will cover class time and preparation/assignments for the class (including practice research projects, sample interventions, negotiations and a final project of up to 10 pages that deploys the student's negotiation and resolution drafting skills). Because the amount of work facing students in the second semester may vary depending on the demands of the particular delegation/Ambassador, an additional one or two credits may be authorized in the winter semester. Students seeking additional credit units will be evaluated based on a timesheet logging hours spent on behalf of their delegation to track hours over and above a baseline expectation that all students will provide at least 20 hours of work requested by their delegations in the second semester. Under the ABA standard for externships, if more than 42.5 additional hours are requested and logged (total of 62.5 hours including the baseline 20 hours), the student may receive a third credit and if more than 85 additional hours are logged (total of 105 hours), a fourth credit may be awarded (four credits is the maximum possible). Because the volume of work requested by an Ambassador/delegation depends on a range of factors and is impossible to predict, students should not count on receiving more than the baseline total of two credits for the combined two-semester seminar/virtual externship experience.

• Type: Externship

This class will be comprised of different tracks that will allow students to explore ways to work in various innovation fields. The weekly class component will examine various legal and business principles related to innovation and support the students' field work, with the fall term focused on the intricacies of venture capital and the winter term focused on the role of institutional capital. The students will spend significant time working on their projects in the field. Track 1 -- Social Venture Fund (SVF): Students will work as a law student advisor to the Ross School of Business's Social Venture Fund. Students will be required to attend the weekly SVF meeting (typically on Sunday afternoons) and actively participate in SVF. Once the fund selects potential companies in which to invest, students will join at least one due diligence team and be responsible for the legal due diligence on potential investments. For companies in which SVF votes to invest students will review the financing deal documents. This track is a year-long track, so students will be required to take this course both semesters. Track 2 -- Michigan Climate Venture (MCV): Students will work as law advisors to Michigan Climate Venture, a University-wide initiative. Students will be required to attend the weekly meetings and actively participate in all educational activities. Once MCV selects potential companies in which to invest, students will join at least one due diligence team and be responsible for the legal due diligence on potential investments. For companies in which MCV votes to invest, law students will review the financing deal documents. This track is a year-long track, so students will be required to take both semesters. Track 3 -- Innovation Partnerships: Students will provide legal research support to the Innovation Partnerships team. Students will immerse themselves in the legal and regulatory issues related to innovation partnerships. Enrollment in this Track is allowed only with the permission of Bryce Pilz ([email protected]), the Executive Director of Licensing & Strategic Alliances. Track 4 -- Startup or Venture Capital Immersion: Students may arrange to work for a startup company or venture capital fund and participate in this course. While some opportunities to work with startups may be announced through Professor Ohmer, students may also arrange their own startup work and propose the arrangement to Professor Ohmer. Note: Because participating students will work with proprietary information related to their field work, as a condition of participating in this program, all students may be required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements particular to their tracks. Enrollment in this class is allowed only with permission of Professor Adrian Ohmer.

• Type: Practice Simulation

This is a survey course designed to introduce students to insurance institutions and insurance law, with the ultimate goal of understanding the role of insurance in society. Liability, health, and property insurance will receive the most attention, but we will also discuss life and disability insurance. After taking this course, students will know how to read and analyze a standard form insurance contract, how to work with insurance regulatory materials, how to spot the insurance issues in a wide variety of legal and public policy contexts, and how to think about insurance related issues using conceptual tools from a variety of disciplines. Cross-cutting themes of interest include the hidden role of insurance in shaping litigation strategy, the regulatory function of insurance contracts, and the ways in which various conceptions of justice are achieved through insurance mechanisms as well as insurance regulation.

• Type: Upper Class

Climate change poses an "urgent and existential threat" according to the International Court of Justice. Certain corporate tax practices "undermine the fairness and integrity of tax systems" according to a major OECD/G20 project. A single nation is "undermining the security of the whole of Europe" according to the European Commission Vice President. Taxpayers in a globalized world still face "the evils of double taxation" that League of Nations experts sought to remedy long ago. The U.S. goods trade deficits "constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States" according to an executive order. Can tax solve these problems...or at least help? If so, should nations act unilaterally, together, or at all? This seminar explores these questions, cultivating a deeper understanding of timely policy debates and how to navigate a complex landscape facing government and private parties alike. We will examine the legality and viability of tax as a tool beyond raising revenue, particularly in the international income and environmental tax spaces, by studying historical, recent, and proposed unilateral and intergovernmental tax responses to global challenges and the interaction of such responses with domestic and international law. In doing so, the course considers the successes and shortcomings of bilateral tax treaties, tax information exchange agreements, dispute resolution mechanisms, digital services taxes, tariffs, the "revenge tax," the Swiss Bank Program, tax sanctions, UN and OECD initiatives, EU taxation and the Apple state aid saga, the EU Emissions Trading System, unilateral and global carbon pricing proposals, exit and expatriation taxes, and more. No background in tax is required; a basic understanding of relevant underlying tax rules and theories will be provided. Grades will be based on participation and a written component.

• Type: Seminar

This course will provide an introduction to international criminal law as administered by international criminal tribunals. It will combine a black-letter approach to some of the most important tribunal case law with theoretical, historical, and policy-oriented readings addressing the role of the tribunals in achieving the objectives of transitional justice. The course will include a historical overview and analysis of the goals, jurisdictional bases, and structures of the various international criminal tribunals, from Nuremberg and Tokyo to the permanent International Criminal Court. It will also focus on substantive international criminal law, including the elements of international crimes (including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression). Third, the course will explore some challenging areas of jurisprudence, including related to sexual violence in armed conflict, gender-based persecution and destruction of cultural heritage or property. Finally, students will assess the effectiveness of the tribunals in contributing to retributive justice, deterrence, peace and reconciliation, victims' well-being and reparation, and the rule of law, and will consider questions about the future of international criminal justice, including strategic dilemmas facing the International Criminal Court as well as alternative or complementary approaches to accountability.

• Type: Upper Class

This two-credit seminar will focus on the law, policy, and practice of internal investigations. Students primarily will read and do a close study of prominent internal investigation reports, including, among others, those involving Enron, Penn State, General Motors, the University of Rochester, and Ohio State. The course will depend on active and substantive class participation and discussion. Students will prepare a number of short papers; and grades will be based on the quality of papers and class participation.

• Type: Seminar

This course is a multi-school offering taught by weekly live lectures which are simultaneously telecast to participating institutions (including Michigan). The lectures are given by leading insolvency academics, judges and practitioners, and satellite classrooms will be equipped with live question-and-answer capability. Professors Belisa Pang and John Pottow will host the Michigan classroom and will be responsible for Michigan student evaluation. This course offers an introduction to some of the unique problems that arise when international corporations become insolvent. International corporations typically have assets and subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions. When distress occurs, a troubled corporation and its subsidiaries may therefore file for bankruptcy in several different jurisdictions with significantly different bankruptcy procedures. It is therefore essential that modern bankruptcy lawyers have at least a basic understanding of the distinctive features of foreign bankruptcy regimes. Additionally, even if a corporation and its subsidiaries file for bankruptcy in a single jurisdiction, that jurisdiction's court will often need the assistance of courts in foreign jurisdictions in order to help protect the corporation's assets and consummate a successful reorganization (or liquidation). It is therefore important for modern bankruptcy lawyers to understand the opportunities for court-to-court cooperation. The course is divided into the following modules: * The first class and half of the second focus on the bankruptcy laws of the United States and, in particular, Chapter 11. This is done to provide students who have not had a United States bankruptcy course with a basic understanding of features of the United States bankruptcy laws that are relevant to the rest of the course. * The next module lasts for three and a half classes and focuses on Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. That is the chapter that is utilized by representatives of businesses that have filed insolvency proceedings in foreign countries to obtain assistance in the courts of the United States. * The next module is one class on the use by foreign companies of chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. * The next module lasts for two classes and focuses on the European Union Regulation. The EU regulation is a regulation governing the impact of insolvency proceedings filed in one EU country in other EU countries. * The last module lasts for five classes and focuses on the insolvency laws of various foreign countries, including the United Kingdom, Mexico, China, Canada, The Netherlands, France and Belgium. At the end of the course, students will have: 1. Acquired a basic understanding of the contours of some of the world's most important bankruptcy regimes. 2. Developed skill in comparative law analysis of legal institutions and the law. 3. Further developed skill in statutory and case law analysis. Students may take this class without having completed or being concurrently enrolled in bankruptcy (or corporate distress or corporate reorganzation), and many do. The first classes devote substantial time to bankruptcy law basics. If you have questions about your background's sufficiency, email Professor Pottow ([email protected]). Because of the need to synchronize with other participating law schools, and the inability to finalize the precise dates and times at present, please note the schedule may be slightly different from other winter term courses. The course will generally meet on Tuesday evenings and have 13 sessions, as all other Michigan 2-credit classes. If the first lecture is before the official start of the Michigan semester, students will be expected to watch a video of the material before the second meeting of the class, which would be on the first Tuesday of Michigan's term. By contrast, if the course starts within Michigan's term-time but the last lecture runs after the conclusion of Michigan's semester, the students will be required to watch a video during "Reading Period." No evaluative coursework will be required of Michigan students during either of these sessions. This is also true of Michigan's winter break week conflicts with a course meeting.

• Type: Upper Class

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that "[a]ll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." This course provides an overview of the international legal and institutional systems to protect these rights. We will examine the material both from an academic perspective and from the point of view of the human rights practitioner, tackling difficult theoretical issues in the field as well as assessing the practical strengths and weaknesses of human rights law and implementation mechanisms. Topics covered include civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, the universality of human rights, norm regression, reservations to human rights treaties, the application of human rights norms during a global pandemic, and the United Nations system for the protection of human rights.

• Type: Upper Class

This class offers a general introduction to the international legal system. We will explore how international law is made through treaties, custom, and other processes; the roles of different actors (e.g., states, NGOs, international organizations, and corporations) in making and applying international law; how violations of international law are identified and remedied by international institutions or actors; and how international law intersects with domestic legal systems, like the one in the United States. The class will cover a range of substantive areas of law, including human rights, the use of force, economic relations, and regulation of the global commons (with some variations across sections). Each topic will be discussed through examination of a real ongoing or recent incident, controversy, or conflict. Students will be encouraged to think about how law can be made, enforced, and interpreted in an environment lacking a single legislature, executive, or judiciary. This course will prove highly useful to preparing students for more specialized courses in international law.

• Type: Upper Class

White Collar Crime Policy and Practice This course will examine the field of white-collar criminal law, in terms of both policy and practice. We will start by covering the key theories, definitions, and statutes that create the substantive legal framework. The focus will be not only on what the laws proscribe, but also how the federal government interprets and applies the statutes to further administration objectives. We will also cover the biggest issues facing white collar criminal law prosecutors and defense attorneys, including privilege, ethics, investigations, negotiations, and development of effective theories of a case. Much of our analysis will be on current cases. Active class participation is a vital part of the course and will impact a student's grade.

• Type: Seminar

While many "international law" courses focus on public international law (i.e. the law of Nation States) this seminar will examine selected topics of international law that are most relevant to the private practitioner. The seminar will cover a specific topic each week, and will include dispute resolution, international regulatory practice and international business law. We will start with a discussion of what "international practice" really means in the private practice context (including the overlap of public-private issues), and proceed to examine discrete international practice areas such as international arbitration and litigation, international regulatory issues such as the FCPA and Economic Sanctions and international commercial law issues involved in areas such as project finance and joint ventures. The ultimate goal of the seminar is to provide students with a survey of "international" practice areas that they might face in law firm practices and help them assess where they might want to practice in their own careers. Students will be expected to lead class sessions throughout the semester and present their paper topics at the end of the term.

• Type: Seminar

This course will examine how public international institutions use their legal instruments to address climate change. It will trace the history of the 1999 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its multiple successor agreements, culminating in the Paris Agreement of 2015 and its implementation. It will cover how other multilateral institutions have incorporated climate obligations into their agreements, including the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the UN International Civil Aviation Organization's CORSIA agreement, and the UN International Maritime Organization's measures for global shipping. Cross-cutting questions will include how the balances struck in the Paris Agreement informed these subsequent negotiations, how effective these agreements are, and their relevance today. The course will also consider how the global trading system (the World Trade Organization (WTO) and FTAs) is grappling with addressing climate change. It will conclude with consideration of recent climate litigation in international courts, including major advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice and others. Course requirements include active class participation, reflection papers, and a final paper. There are no prerequisites, however some familiarity with international law and/or environmental law is strongly encouraged.

• Type: Upper Class

The seminar provides an overview and analysis of the technique of project financing in an international environment, particularly in emerging markets. The focus is on the perspectives of the various parties to the project, including output purchasers, providers of goods and services, equity holders, and especially commercial banks, international financial institutions and other lenders and will cover the following topics: (1) basic concepts of project finance and the role of the lawyer in an international project financing; (2) legal issues that typically arise at each stage of an international project finance transaction; (3) techniques that are used to structure and finance major projects, (4) renegotiation, restructuring, and dispute settlement in connection with international projects, and (5) the application of project finance techniques to the funding of infrastructure projects in various sectors, including power generation, ports, toll roads, etc.

• Type: Seminar

This foundational course provides a comprehensive analysis of the definition of refugee status set by the UN Refugee Convention, adopted by the United States and 146 other states. Drawing on comparative jurisprudence, the course situates U.S. refugee law in its global context and equips students to undertake both sophisticated policy analysis and complex litigation in the field. The course promotes an understanding of refugee law as a mode of human rights protection, the viability of which requires striking a balance between the needs of the victims of human rights abuse and the legitimate aspirations of the countries to which they flee.

• Type: Upper Class

The International Transactions Clinic (ITC) does good by doing deals. The ITC concentrates on teaching students skills that are critically important to their professional development as they enter into practice areas that involve international transactions. The transactional work of the ITC is focused on negotiating and documenting cross-border deals, particularly in emerging markets. This includes developing drafting and negotiation skills as applied to cross-border transactions, exposure to ethical issues that arise in the international commercial context, structuring and documenting investments in enterprises that primarily work in emerging markets, and an understanding of international economic and financial policy. The ITC is a full-year clinic with four credits in the Fall semester and four credits in the Winter semester. Both terms are letter graded. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in the ITC for at least two semesters so as to allow them to provide legal support in the negotiation and documentation of multiple international transactions. To the greatest extent possible, students will have significant client exposure in the course of working on transactions, although in some cases due to the international context of these transactions such client exposure may be "virtual" making use of email, skype, and other means of electronic communication. The ITC also makes use of practicing attorneys to help supervise the work of its student clinicians. These practicing attorneys also may be physically remote from the students. The ITC clientele is very diverse. It ranges from not-for-profit organizations to for-profit organizations, from start-ups to well-established businesses, and from social enterprises to impact investors. What all of the ITC clients hold in common, however, is an international focus and a passion to change the world for the better. This diversity also means, however, that not every project of the ITC will meet the New York bar pro bono requirement. Students wanting to satisfy that requirement through their participation in the ITC should make that preference known to the ITC Director before first client assignments are made in the fall. The Clinic fulfills the Law School's professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement. The Clinic can either fulfill the Law School's professional responsibility requirement for graduation or the credits can count toward the Experiential Learning requirement, but not both. The Clinic fulfills the International or Comparative Law Distribution Requirement for graduation.

• Type: Clinic

This course introduces the student to certain fundamental cases in Constitutional law, to the questions they raise, and to the modes of thought and criticism appropriate to this field. There is necessarily a large historical component to the work, for the Constitution has acquired its meaning over time. Major questions include: What is the justification for judicial review? What are appropriate occasions and standards for the exercise of this power? How has the power actually been used throughout our history? These questions are considered in the context of doctrinal fields chosen for variety of issues and to allow consideration of historical development over the full life of the Constitution. These fields include: the scope of federal powers; preemption; state regulation of interstate commerce (in some sections); powers of the President; relations between branches of the federal government; basic principles of racial equal protection; Congressional enforcement power under the Reconstruction Amendments; and justiciability.

• Type: First Year Required

This seminar will contrast the formal legal protections of intellectual property law with the informal, nonlegal, self-regulatory mechanisms that have emerged in a variety of creative industries. Comedians, chefs, roller derby enthusiasts, tattoo artists, and others have developed complex, nuanced, and informally-enforced norms, attitudes, and expectations surrounding creative production. We will consider these norm-based alternatives, the motivations for their adoption, and what they might teach us about intellectual property law and policy.

• Type: Seminar

In the Juvenile Justice Clinic, students will represent minors charged with violations of the criminal law and status offenses in Michigan's family courts. While primarily a litigation clinic, students may from time-to-time handle appellate matters and may be involved in public policy issues such as analyzing proposed legislation. In the course of clinic, students will develop litigation skills including case investigation, trial preparation, and presenting evidence and argument in the courtroom. Casework, which is supervised by a clinical professor, may involve client interviewing and counseling, legal research and motion drafting, negotiation with prosecuting authorities, and courtroom presentation of the case. In addition to trial advocacy and casework, classroom sessions will also focus on legal ethics, the basics of child development and other topics. The Juvenile Justice Clinic meets the New York Pro-Bono requirement. JJC is a 7 credit course of which all credits are graded. The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School's professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

• Type: Clinic

In the Juvenile Justice Clinic, students will represent minors charged with violations of the criminal law and status offenses in Michigan's family courts. While primarily a litigation clinic, students may from time-to-time handle appellate matters and may be involved in public policy issues such as analyzing proposed legislation. In the course of clinic, students will develop litigation skills including case investigation, trial preparation, and presenting evidence and argument in the courtroom. Casework, which is supervised by a clinical professor, may involve client interviewing and counseling, legal research and motion drafting, negotiation with prosecuting authorities, and courtroom presentation of the case. In addition to trial advocacy and casework, classroom sessions will also focus on legal ethics, the basics of child development and other topics. The Juvenile Justice Clinic meets the New York Pro-Bono requirement. JJC is a 7 credit course of which all credits are graded. The Clinic seminar fulfills the Law School's professional responsibility requirement for graduation, but does not fulfill the New York State Bar ethics requirement.

• Type: Clinic

Most of our lives take place in physical space. We live in homes and work in office or industrial buildings (or, for that matter, in homes). Our lives are further shaped by decisions about the location and design of everything from power plants to agriculture. Land use law regulates what goes where, affecting nearly every aspect of social and economic activity. This course will examine how that regulation proceeds, legally, as well as the effects of current regulatory approaches and contemporary fights over land use policy. We will discuss the leading approaches to planning and zoning available to municipalities and the political and administrative mechanisms used to implement them: i.e. how can land be used, and who decides? We will also study important forms of public land use regulation outside of zoning, such as building codes, subdivision regulations, environmental review, and historic preservation. While much of our focus will be on local land use regulation, we will also consider other actors, including the role of the state and national governments in land use and private alternatives to public land use regulation. Other topics may include the relationship between local revenue sources and land use and the limitations on land use regulation imposed by the federal and state constitutions, including with respect to takings and exclusionary zoning. Throughout, we will examine the historical roots and present-day stakes of these legal choices.

• Type: Upper Class

Law & Economic Development in India: Behavioral Approaches & Policy Implementation This seminar examines the relationship between law and economic development in India -- one of the world's largest and fastest growing economies -- with an opportunity for interested students to go to India during Winter Break in March 2026 (economy airfare and accommodations in India will be provided for students) to work on a major policy reform and its implementation with the highest policy organ of the Government of India. The policy reform could be climate change, women's empowerment, financial inclusion, or another topic. Travelling to India is not required of students, but is available to all students enrolled in the course who are interested and would provide students with an additional 1 credit in addition to the 2 credits already offered for the seminar via enrollment in LAW 935 Law&Econ Dev: India Supplement. In terms of lectures in the US before traveling to India, the seminar begins with a brief and general discussion of the role of the law in economic development and canvasses some influential and important theories. We then provide a thumbnail sketch of India and the Indian legal system including its Constitution (the longest in the world) and its judiciary (one of the most active in the world). Following this the seminar examines specific areas of law and legal reforms in India that have a significant impact on economic development. Once students return from India we will continue our exploration of the role of law in economic development. Topics covered (both before and after Winter Break) include property, inheritance, "personal" laws, corporate and financial markets laws (including debt), intellectual property and competition laws, labor laws, infrastructure, contracts, and more. The seminar delves into how these areas of law and legal reform influence economic development in India. We then conclude with a discussion of how the experiences in India help to enrich our understanding of the role of law in economic development more generally. The readings for the sessions will span across theoretical, historical, empirical and "black letter" law. Assessment for the seminar will depend on whether students intend to travel to India in Winter Break 2026. If they do, then they are expected to participate actively in class sessions and write a short paper on their work in India (this will be a team project of 2 to 3 students in each team). Along with that the students are expected to produce five (5) reaction papers to the readings. If students are not intending to travel to India in Winter Break 2026 then they are expected to actively participate in class sessions and produce five (5) reaction papers to the readings. There are thirteen sessions and students can pick whichever 5 sessions for which they wish to write reaction papers. Each paper should be five (5) double spaced pages long. Students should feel free to reach out to Professor Mamidi for further information.

• Type: Seminar

Students enrolled in this course will work on a major policy reform and its implementation with the highest policy organ of the Government of India. The policy reform could be climate change, women's empowerment, financial inclusion, or another topic. Concurrent enrollment in the Law and Economic Development in India: Behavioral Approaches and Policy Implementation seminar is required.

• Type: Seminar

All seminar participants will attend the Law and Economics Workshop, a series of afternoon presentations by leading scholars from around the country who are engaged in research at the intersection of law and economics. The Workshop is also attended by faculty members from the Law School, the Business School, and the Economics Department. In advance of each session, students will read the paper to be presented and prepare a two- or three-page critique. No background in Economics or in Law and Economics is required.

• Type: Seminar

This seminar will analyze recent research at the crossroads of finance, corporate law, and regulation. Each week will discuss one to three recent papers addressing significant legal and/or economic questions involving the market structure of financial trading markets; corporate law; the structure of ownership of public companies; and international perspectives on major issues in US financial and corporate law. Each student enrolled in the class will be responsible for reading all papers; preparing thoughtful reviews of some of them; and leading discussions of others. Background in the relevant bodies of law, in empirical research, and in finance will certainly be useful, but is not necessary.

• Type: Seminar

This course is for those curious about the place of "the rural" in American law and politics. Perhaps you've noticed the buzz and backlash surrounding books like JD Vance's Hillbilly Elegy. Maybe you've read about the opioid epidemic in rural communities or are interested in voting access for rural Native people. This course will push students to think seriously about how law shapes rural communities and how rural geography in turn shapes legal and policy implementation. The course will survey a broad range of legal subfields and expose students to historical and contemporary legal problems specific to rural communities in the United States by using legal, political, and historical sources. We will cover topics such as rural legal aid, environmental protection, American Indian law, farmworkers rights, rural technology, education policy, land use, water law, and even criminal prosecution. In the process we'll consider changing legal definitions of the rural, consider how each of the topics covered are intertwined, and rethink the place of rural communities in American law and policy. Students will leave the course with the ability to reassess the relationship between legal principles learned in other courses and the spaces and places in which those laws and legal decisions are implemented.

• Type: Seminar

An emerging movement known as the Abundance Agenda is drawing attention to how government dysfunction underwrites a host of problems in the United States, ranging from crumbling infrastructure to inadequate housing to rampant tax evasion. The law contributes to government dysfunction in myriad ways, including through a procedurally hidebound administrative law, an overzealous judiciary, robust participatory norms, antiquated civil service rules, and cumbersome procurement processes. The class would drill into a legal culture that has made it so hard to govern effectively, with an eye to a reform agenda that acknowledges tough tradeoffs and gives government the tools to create a better future for all Americans.

• Type: Seminar

Only foreign national students in either the JD program or LLM/SJD program are eligible to enroll for this course after receiving permission from the Office of Student Life. A student who enrolls for this course must complete a research project based on a practical work experience related to the student's field of study. The student must consult with and have the project graded by a faculty advisor. Eligible students may enroll for either 1, 2, or 3 credits.

• Type: Research