We will work together to examine and discuss the stages of an international business transaction from the first bullet point list of key deal terms to the opening of the champagne at the closing of the transaction.

We will make extensive use of real-world international business transactions and hypothetical case studies. We will consider international deals involving such matters as energy, infrastructure, technology, real estate and manufacturing. We will examine the structuring, negotiating and drafting of international business transactions. We will discuss the roles of creativity, strategy, communications, teamwork, technology, diplomacy and human nature as factors in concluding international business transactions. Throughout this process the question of how to balance business risk and legal protections will be a central topic.

Drawing on the instructor’s decades of experience working on international business transactions both at major international law firms and as in-house counsel, the class will delve into cross-border deals involving such matters as Requests for Information, Requests for Proposals, Confidentiality Agreements, Due Diligence, Term Sheets, Letters of Intent, Privatizations, Asset Purchase Agreements, Share Purchase Agreements, Engineering Procurement and Construction Agreements, Strategic Alliances, Project Finance Agreements, Loan Agreements and License and Research & Development Agreements.

We will consider the roles of US and multilateral institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the US Export-Import Bank, the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency and the US’ Development Finance Corporation. We will examine the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar anti-bribery legislation.

All reading assignments will be available on Canvas. No textbook required.

Sequences and Prerequisites:  None. 

Evaluation:  Project and presentation (80%) and class attendance and participation (20%). 

Sequence and Prerequisites: A basic understanding of business and corporate law will be assumed such that completion of Business Associations is strongly recommended, although not required.

Evaluation: Course evaluation will be based on the required coursework: attendance and participation during the seminar, and reaction papers to the guests’ written work and presentations.

 Students will explore these questions through engagement with case studies, case law, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, guest speakers, and media representations of advocates.  Students should leave the course understanding the unique responsibilities placed upon advocates and how best to both advocate for their clients and maintain their professional and personal ethical and moral obligations.

• This course is eligible to satisfy the Professional Responsibility and Ethics course requirement for graduation.

Sequence and Prerequisites: None

Evaluation:   Grades will be based on written assignments, classroom participation, performance in exercises, and a take home final examination.

 Students who accept the invitation to join Dispute Resolution Team will compete in one regional or national dispute resolution advocacy competition in both the fall and spring semester.  These competitions may be focused on arbitrations, negotiations, client counseling, or mediations.  Enrollment is based upon an audition process, generally held following final examinations in the Spring semester.  Students will audition for a specialty:  arbitration, mediation, negotiations, or client counseling.  Selected students will then participate in an external competition each semester that relates to their selected specialty.

 Further, students who accept the invitation to join Dispute Resolution Team will undergo rigorous training with a practitioner coach and periodic bonus critiques from College of Law faculty, Illinois alumni, and additional seasoned practicing attorney volunteers as competition weekend approach.  The Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism will also provide additional workshops and programs to help with overall development as well as individual optimization.

Course Sequence/Corequisite/Prerequisites:  Students enrolled must complete Professionalism in Advocacy as a co-requisite during the spring semester.  Negotiations, CFI, Trial Advocacy, and Evidence are all highly recommended.

Evaluation:  Dispute Resolution Team is a two-hour graded course.  The grading will be on the College of Law’s mandatory curve for upper-level courses.  Grades will be based on participation and performance in several training sessions held throughout each semester, preparation and performance in regular practice sessions led by a faculty member coach, a final graded practice session prior to the competition, and finally based on performance in the assigned competition, inclusive of professionalism and contributions to the Dispute Resolution Team throughout the semester.

Course Classification: Experiential

 Students who accept the invitation to join Advanced Moot Court will undergo rigorous training with a practitioner coach and periodic bonus critiques from College of Law faculty, Illinois alumni, and additional seasoned practicing attorney volunteers as competition weekends approach.  Students enrolled in the course will also be required to participate in a summer training program that will be provided remotely via Zoom.  The Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism will also provide additional workshops and programs to help with overall development as well as individual optimization.

 Advanced Moot Court competitions provide hands-on experiential training for future lawyers.  It also offers student development in prevailing over practical challenges that lawyers typically face in modern legal practice.  In addition to polishing their basic appellate advocacy skills, team members learn to analyze and master a record of trial, draft appellate briefs, navigate an appellate courtroom, engage in a conversation with an appellate court, and effectively employ complicated legal issues.

 Each Advanced Moot Court member will participate in two interscholastic tournaments each academic year at both the national and regional level.  Advanced Moot Court members will be expected to write a brief for each competition and to be prepared to provide oral argument for each competition.  Advanced Moot Court members will also be expected to help mentor and develop students enrolled in Moot Court.

 Students are selected for Advanced Moot Court through satisfactory completion of Moot Court the prior academic year.

Course Sequence and Co/Prerequisites:  Pre-requisite is Moot Court.  Students must complete Professionalism and Advocacy in the Spring semester as a co- or pre-requisite.  Advanced Appellate Advocacy, Evidence, and Trial Advocacy are highly recommended.

Evaluation:  Advanced Moot Court is a two-hour graded course.  The grading will be on the College of Law’s mandatory curve for upper-level courses.  Grades will be based on participation and performance in the moot court summer training program, a faculty grading of the competition brief, performance in a final appellate advocacy practice session prior to the competition, and finally based on performance in the moot court competition, inclusive of professionalism and contributions to the Moot Court Board throughout the semester.

Course Classification: Experiential

Sequence and Prerequisites:  While previously completing a Patent Law or Intellectual Property course is suggested, it is not required.

Evaluation: Paper

Tentative topics include:

• Real-life Investigations: Understanding the conduct of grand jury and administrative investigations.
• Corporate Privilege: Applying privilege within the corporate environment.
• Parallel Proceedings: Managing simultaneous civil and criminal proceedings.
• Company Issues: Addressing differences between private and public companies, with an emphasis on the expanding role of private equity.
• Officer/Director Representation: Navigating issues related to D&O insurance, separation agreements, and whistleblower concerns.
• Data Privacy: Handling data privacy issues effectively.
• Managing Third Parties: Overseeing consultants, e-discovery vendors, and forensic support.
• Government Perspective: Understanding regulatory expectations and enforcement priorities.

This comprehensive course provides a practical perspective on the complexities of corporate fraud and the legal strategies involved in defending against such allegations.

 Sequence and Prerequisites: Business Associations is recommended, although not required.

 Evaluation: The course will be graded based on attendance and engaged participation, one to two short presentations, and a short paper on emerging areas related to corporate fraud investigation, prosecution, and defense.

Sequence and Prerequisite: None

Evaluation Method: Take home exam/project

Sequence and Prerequisites: None

Evaluation: The course is pass/fail based on class participation and preparation during the semester, as well as a short, written paper to be submitted at the end of the course.

In this seminar we will pursue two distinct goals: first, to develop a better appreciation of the problems that beset our planet and the practices in which we each engage on a daily basis that cause those problems; and second, to ask deeper, more theoretical questions about why we continue, as individuals and as a society, to engage in those practices when evidence suggests that their short-term gains will not be worth their long-term costs.   These two goals will cause us to pan back and forth between the empirics of environmental degradation and the theoretical and legal presuppositions that support and encourage our unsustainable practices. 

This seminar is explicitly designed to complement the study of environmental law.  Without understanding, for example, the value of biodiversity, the importance of preserving wilderness, the impact on animals of industrialized meat production, and the ways in which our consumptive practices continue to destabilize the climate, we will fail to craft and apply environmental law so as to serve its highest and best purposes.  Only by understanding the sources of environmental degradation and by engaging in debate about the ethics of environmental management, can students (and ultimately law and policy makers) understand the role that law can best play in inducing sustainable practices and protecting valuable natural capital.

Sequence and Prerequisites: None

Evaluation:  Students will be asked to do several in-class activities (cumulatively worth one-third of their grade) and two short papers (each worth one-third of their grade).