Course Descriptions

The Colorado Law courses and seminars listed below have been taught in the last three academic years, however, they are not always offered every year. Frequently, faculty develop new seminars to reflect current developments in the law and in their research interests; these seminars may be offered only periodically. The listed courses are taught regularly. Consult "Planned Course Offering Schedule" to determine the next term a course will be taught. Go to "Calendars and Schedules" to find a list of the courses and seminars being offered in the current academic term.

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Secured Transactions - LAWS 6021
Explores the methodology and policies of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, dealing with financing transactions in personal property.

Securities Litigation and Enforcement - LAWS 8401
Designed for students interested in studying topics related to securities litigation. Covers civil liability under the Securities Act of 1933, proxy fraud, class actions (with special emphasis on the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act), market manipulation, SEC enforcement actions, enforcement issues involving attorneys and accountants, criminal enforcement, international securities fraud, and securities arbitration.

Securities Regulation - LAWS 7401
Concerned with the various federal statutes regulating the issue of corporate securities and the cases and regulations that have arisen out of those statutes; stress on statutory interpretation.

Seminar: Critical Theory Cllqm - LAWS 8728
Surveys critical legal theory; introduces the discipline of analytical engagement with law review literature; feminist legal theory, and critical race theory. Offers a deeper understanding of the purposes behind legal reforms, the interaction between law on the books and law in action, how different groups experience the law in different ways, and difficult yet rewarding nature of working through seemingly intractable and emotionally charged race, sex, and class issues.

Separation of Powers - LAWS 8395
The law governing the relationships of the three constitutional branches of the federal government. Topics include judicial control of the presidency, congressional control of federal jurisdiction, budgeting and spending processes, the President's veto power, impeachment, officers' immunities from liability, executive privilege, congressional and executive supervision of the agencies, foreign policy powers, and war powers. This is a seminar limited to twelve students, with a research paper meeting the graduation requirement and no examination. No prerequisites. The course is offered annually.

Sexuality and the Law - LAWS 7505
This course will be a survey of the main topics that fall under the rubric of “sexuality and the law,” with hopes that we can identify persistent themes and issues. We will discuss the federal and state constitutional rights of sexual minorities (GLBTI peoples), the status of same sex marriage under statutory law (federal and state DOMA’s) and federal and state constitutional law, the centrality of gendered heterosexuality to family law, other legal regulation of sexual conduct, and the legal system’s abilities/inabilities to deal with the breakdown of dichotomous sexualities (the challenges presented by transgender and intersex groups).

Social Disparities in Health - SOCY 7002
Presents social disparities in health in their social context. Includes the sociology of health behavior; links between health status and social statuses including gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status; fundamental causes and other explanations for social disparities in health; environment and health; health insurance disparities; the physician-patient interaction and its consequences.

Special Problems in Conflict Resolution and Management - LAWS 8409
Develops a comprehensive description of dispute; creates a conflict assessment of the stakeholders in and dynamics of dispute; assess obstacles to and opportunities for mediation; recommend strategy for addressing and managing the dispute. While there are no prerequisites, Mediation and/or Legal Negotiation are encouraged/helpful.

Special Topics - LAWS 6708
Course topics vary. See topic titles and descriptions each semester.

Specialized Legal Research: Selected Topics - LAWS 6836
Builds upon first-year legal research problem-solving skills by exposing students to the nuances of research topics in a specialized topic and tracking related doctrinal classes – e.g., environmental and natural resources law.

Sports Law - LAWS 7331
Covers the application of rules from agency, antitrust, contracts, constitutional law (including sex discrimination), labor law, property, torts, unincorporated associations, and other subjects to those persons involved in the production and delivery of athletic competition to consumers. Explores the development of the application of these rules to a sports setting and related economic issues.

Standards and Standardization Wars - LAWS 7371
This course will look at the standardization process and the products that result from "standards wars" and analyze the business, legal and practical implications of achieving market dominance.

Supreme Court Decision Making - LAWS 7013
Students will deliberate over several important cases as Justices of the Supreme Court. Class will be divided into three "courts" with the first hour spent in deliberation and the second hour in discussion of the deliberative process as well as the substantive issues.

Tax Policy - LAWS 8407
Explores current issues in tax policy. Topics may include the tax legislative process, consumption taxes, taxes and distributive justice, the tax exemption for nonprofits, carbon taxes, corporate taxes and integration, and taxes and entrepreneurship. Federal Income Tax is a prerequisite.

Technology Law and Policy Clinic - LAWS 7809
Features technology law advocacy before administrative and legislative bodies. The mission of TLPC is: 1) to train and produce students equipped to conduct thoughtful analysis, and 2) provide unbiased assistance in the public interest concerning technology issues to regulatory entities, courts, legislatures and standard setting bodies. No prerequisites, but at least one technology-related course such as Telecom Law, Intro to IP, Copyright Law, or Information Privacy is recommended as a corequisite.

Technology of Privacy - LAWS 6331
Explores the escalating debates by policymakers, scholars, advocates, and industry representatives about the growing spread of tracking and surveillance in society. Debates are being spurred by the pace of changes to technology and particularly of changes to Internet and mobile technology. Practicioners in information privacy law or technology policy must understand the past, present, and likely future of the technology of privacy.

Telecommunications Law and Policy - LAWS 7241
Examines laws governing telecommunications industries, including federal and state regulation and international aspects. Includes telephone; cable; satellite, cellular, and other wireless systems; and the Internet.

Telos Project - LAWS XXXX

The Law of the Colorado River - LAWS 8312
Addresses the many areas of law and policy that affect management of the Colorado River and the communities that depend on it. The seminar will also include material and presentations from experts in other disciplines, including conservation biology, climate science, anthropology, geology, and hydrology. The centerpiece of the class will be a two-week raft trip through the Grand Canyon.

The Practice of Labor and Employment Law - LAWS 6501
The course focuses on aspects of the practice of employment law, rather than the examination of legal doctrines. The instructors are both members of the Labor and Employment Department at Sherman & Howard L.L.C. Focusing on examples from their practice, the course discusses typical issues presented in advising and litigating on behalf of employers and employees. Each topic includes special attention to ethical issues.

The Rhetoric of Law - LAWS 8138
Considers how Anglo-American law operates rhetorically, how it persuades, builds character, offers proof, approximates the truth, establishes legitimacy, and makes things happen. It will also explore the ethics of rhetoric and note the relationship of rhetoric to other bodies of legal scholarship (e.g., law and literature, legal pragmatism, law and culture).

Theory of Punishment - LAWS 8548
Explores the various justifications that philosophers have developed to explain why we have the right to punish. Examines the historical evolution of our punishment system and focuses on the death penalty as a critical contemporary issue in the debate about the proper role of punishment in our society.

Torts I - LAWS 5425
Study of the nonconsensual allocation of losses for civil wrongs, focusing primarily on the concepts of negligence and strict liability.

Toxics and Hazardous Waste - LAWS 7402
Examines the EPA's federal hazardous waste statutes, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). Analyzes the RCRA "cradle-to-grave" hazardous waste program, and addresses the evolving CERCLA liability scheme and cleanup process.

Trademark and Unfair Competition Law - LAWS 7341
Examines the subject matter of trademark protection, the interaction of trademark and unfair competition law with other intellectual property doctrines, the requirements for acquiring and retaining federal trademark rights, false advertising and other misrepresentations, the right of publicity and related claims, remedies for infringement, and international aspects of trademark protection.

Transactional Drafting - LAWS 7051
This course will teach the principles of contemporary commercial drafting and introduce documents used in a variety of transactions. The skills gained will be applicable to any transactional practice and will also be useful to litigators. On finishing the course, students will know the business purpose of each contract concept, how to translate the business deal into contract concepts, how to draft each of a contract’s parts with clarity and without ambiguity, how to add value to a deal, how to work through the drafting process, and how to review and comment on a contract.

Trial Advocacy - LAWS 6109
Focuses on voir dire, opening statement, direct examination of witnesses, and cross examination.

Trial Competition - LAWS 7509
Student teams further develop trial and advocacy skills in a competitive mock-trial format involving two or more rounds of trials. Preparation of trial briefs and drafting other court pleadings and documents is required. Credit is limited to the top two teams (six students). Student finalists may continue involvement in regional and national competitions.

Trial Practice - LAWS 6179
Students apply the rules and doctrine of evidence in simulated trial settings. Must be taken with the corresponding section of Evidence. Enrollment is limited to 24. Satisfies the trial practice requirement and counts two hours toward the 14-hour maximum of clinical hours counted toward graduation. This is a graded course--not pass/grade.

Undrstnd Global Fin Crisis - LAWS 6338
Explores the causes and consequences of the global financial crisis. Analyzes financial instruments and institutions at the heart of the crisis -- including asset-backed securities, credit derivatives, government-sponsored entities, credit rating agencies, hedge funds, and financial conglomerates -- and places them in the context of a larger "shadow banking system". Examines the building blocks of financial reform.

Venture Capital and Private Equity - LAWS 7271
Provides overview of the legal and financial principles to represent privately held companies, their founders and managers, and their investors. Emphasizes transaction structuring rather than judicial opinions. Includes the organization and financing of start-ups, structuring buyout transactions, exit strategies, legal organization of investment funds and other financial intermediaries. Discusses the relevant regulatory landscape, including securities law, bankruptcy, ERISA, and tax law.

Wal-Mart - LAWS 8511
Examines issues raised by Wal-Mart's size, power and business model. The issues that we will consider bring numerous areas of law into play, including employment and labor law, social welfare legislation, class actions, antitrust, zoning, international labor and human rights regulation, and international trade. The course will show how different areas of the law are integrated in practice.

Water Resources - LAWS 6302
Analysis of regional and national water problems, including the legal methods by which surface and ground water supplies are allocated, managed, and protected.

White Collar Crime - LAWS 6035
Examines distinctions between white collar crime and other types of criminal activity and the needs for and arguments against white collar laws and law enforcement. Studies securities fraud, mail and wire fraud, insider trading, money laundering, false statements, conspiracy and criminal forfeiture statutes. Includes use of the grand jury, privileges applicable in the corporate setting, immunity, discovery and the impact of parallel civil proceedings. Examines effect of government policy on corporations and their counsel, pre-trial and trial strategy, jury selection, and victim notification and restitution options.

White Collar Crime Practicum - LAWS 6060
Addresses the non-trial portion of white collar criminal law. Drawing examples and problems from wire fraud, securities fraud, healthcare, and computer fraud contexts, explores a white collar case’s major investigative and charging phases, corporate and organizational issues, as well as pleas and punishment.

Wildlife and the Law - LAWS 6502
Examines the law that protects wildlife, its habitat, and biodiversity. Explores human-caused threats including habitat destruction, illegal trade, and climate change. Focuses on statutes, case law, environmental ethics, and current controversies to highlight legal, scientific, and political strategies for protecting biodiversity. Particular emphasis is placed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Wills and Trusts - LAWS 6104
Intestate succession; family protection; execution of wills; revocation and revival; will contracts and will substitutes; creation of trusts; modification and termination; charitable trusts; fiduciary administration, including probate and contest of wills; construction problems in estate distribution.

Writing for Employment Lawyers - LAWS 6561
Exposes students to a wide range of client counseling and writing problems in the employment context. Examples include drafting demand letters, responses to EEOC charges, portions of employee handbooks, settlement agreements, document requests and interrogatories, and letters to opposing counsel. Prerequisite or Corequisite: Employment Law OR Employment Discrimination.

Writing in the Regulatory State - LAWS 6207
Focuses on developing the research, writing, and analytical skills necessary to operate within any highly-regulated field. Weekly research and writing assignments will focus on exposing students to the kinds of authority typical in the regulatory context: legislation, legislative history, administrative regulations, agency opinions, cases, and advanced secondary sources. Student writing assignments will include drafting opinion letters, pleadings and motions, contracts, and policies and procedures.

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