Upper-Level 2 - College of Law

792: Topics in Professional Responsibility

This seminar, led by Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, explores selected topics in ethics and professional responsibility from a judicial perspective and the perspective of counsel providing individual representation to clients, including those accused of crimes. In this seminar, students will engage in robust discussion, work through ethical problems individually and in small groups, and consider how their future legal careers will reflect the highest ethical values required by the profession. Guest speakers will include judges and lawyers who confront issues of professional responsibility in their decision-making and practice.

This course is NOT eligible to satisfy the Professional Responsibility and Ethics course requirement for graduation.

Course sequence/prerequisites: None

Evaluation method: Grades will be based on a combination of any of the following: class participation, written assignments, and individual or group presentations.

792: Reviving the American Jury

Trial by jury in criminal and civil cases is a central component of the American legal system. However, over time, state and private actors have dramatically reduced the jury’s scope. Today, juries resolve only a small percentage of cases in the criminal and civil justice systems. In this short course, we will discuss the multiple causes of the decline in jury trials. We will examine jury selection and the conduct of jury trials to assess how well juries perform their democratic function. Finally, we will explore potential reforms that could help to restore the jury to its important place in our system of justice.

Course sequence/prerequisites: No prerequisites.

Evaluation method: Course participants will identify a particular jury reform as the subject matter for their 8-10 page seminar papers, due at the end of the semester. The course grade will be based 80% on the evaluation of the seminar paper and 20% on class participation.

794: Securities Law in Practice: Advising the Public Company

This course explores the role of the securities lawyer as a strategic advisor in the modern public company. Students will learn how disclosure, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance intersect in real-world practice through the lens of in-house counsel and outside advisors. Each week focuses on a key aspect of the public company disclosure cycle – annual reports, proxy statements, current reports, insider filings, and SEC comment letters – paired with hands-on drafting, analysis, and judgment exercises.

Sequence and Prerequisites: Business Associations is a prerequisite or co-requisite.

Evaluation: Short written assignments, class attendance and participation, and a final project. There will not be a final examination.

792: Introduction to Federal Agricultural Law and the Forces That Shape it and Agricultural Policy

The course has two goals. First, provide a general overview of the breadth of Federal Agricultural Law and its impact. Second, study how the principles Administrative Law, Appropriations Law, and Constitutional Law come together to shape Federal Agricultural Law and policy.

This course will look at these issues from practitioner’s perspective:

The basic structures of Federal Agricultural Law, including the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, and the Farm Bill.
How legal principles of Administrative Law, Appropriations Law, and Constitutional Law create leverage for the parties (agencies, the White House, Congress, and stakeholders) to influence agricultural policy and offer opportunities for creative lawyering to create “workarounds” to accomplish specific policy goals.

By the end of the course, students will have a better understanding of not only Agricultural Law, but how recent court decisions and actions by the current Administration are fundamentally changing the development of Agricultural Law and policy. These changes are impacting agricultural production, especially on Illinois farms located within a few miles of the Law School, and potentially the food that is available in the grocery store.

Sequences and Prerequisites: None.

Evaluation: Take home exam (80%) and class attendance and participation (20%).

798: Legal Theory Seminar: Classical Readings in Anglo-American Jurisprudence

This is a seminar offered jointly by the University of Illinois and the University of Pennsylvania. It is co-taught by Leo Katz (Penn) and Michael Moore (Illinois). Students from both of these universities will be enrolled in the seminar. It is also possible that students/post-docs/faculty from other schools will also be auditing the seminar in whole or in part, as has been true of similar seminars in the past.

The subject matter of the seminar will be the uniquely singular focus of American jurisprudence on the nature of judicial reasoning. How judges both do and should reason in their resolution of disputed law cases is a topic of great interest during this current, troubled state of our legal system, but as the seminar will reveal, it has always been the central focus of American legal theory. The seminar will together read and discuss a number of articles/book chapters/book excerpts by leading American legal theorists spanning the last century and a half. As you can see from the accompanying syllabus for the seminar, the readings are organized historically, beginning with the formalist approach of Christopher Columbus Langdell in 1870.

Because this is a joint seminar involving students from different universities, each of the sessions will be conducted on Zoom. While there may be occasional in person sessions at either Penn or Illinois, there will otherwise be no in person classroom component.

Each student at the University of Illinois will be expected to team up (by Zoom) with at least one student from Penn to prepare questions and comments for class discussion of one of the papers to be read and discussed in one of the fourteen sessions of the seminar. In addition, Illinois students will be expected to prepare a 5-10 page paper exploring in greater depth one of the topics discussed during the semester. This can be the topic on which the student also prepared questions for in-class discussion. There will no exam or other formal requirements other than regular attendance and participation.

Because there is no overlap between the content of this seminar and the content of the Seminar on Advanced Topics in Property and Contract Law taught by Michael Moore and Leo Katz academic year 2024-25, students who have taken the latter seminar may also enroll in the present seminar as well. The Seminar on Advanced Topics in Property and Contract Law will not be offered AY 2025-2026.

As you will see from the syllabus for the seminar, the academic calendars of the University of Illinois and the University of Pennsylvania are not perfectly congruent: Penn starts and finishes one week earlier than Illinois, and the spring breaks of the two schools are also one week off. This means that two of the seminar sessions – session nos. 1 and 10 – are not official class days for Illinois students (although they are for Penn students). In the past some Illinois students have chosen to join these sessions anyway, and although you are under no obligation to do so you are welcome to do the same for these sessions this year.

Sequence and Prerequisites: None

Evaluation: Each student at the University of Illinois will be expected to team up (by Zoom) with at least one student from Penn to prepare questions and comments for class discussion of one of the papers to be read and discussed in one of the fourteen sessions of the seminar. In addition, Illinois students will be expected to prepare a 5-10 page paper exploring in greater depth one of the topics discussed during the semester. This can be the topic on which the student also prepared questions for in-class discussion. There will be no exam or other formal requirements other than regular attendance and participation.

794: International Business Transactions: From Thought to Finish

How can a lawyer lead to drive an international business transaction to a successful conclusion? This hands-on interactive course will focus on this mission critical question.

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%).

794: Topics in Business Law

This seminar allows students to hear from lawyers, scholars, and other leaders in corporate and securities law. After an introductory class the first week, each week we will be joined by a guest to talk with us about a current topic or issue in business law.

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.

694: Professional Responsibility in Advocacy

Today’s legal practice allows attorneys to practice advocacy in a variety of forums. Attorneys may advocate in trial courtrooms, in appellate courtrooms, or in administrative hearings. They are likely also to advocate through alternative dispute resolution forums, such as negotiations, arbitrations, and mediations. No matter where an attorney advocates, there is an expectation that the advocate be professional. This course examines what professionalism entails and requires in the advocacy space. It asks the following questions: (1) How do we define professionalism? (2) Why is professionalism required in advocacy? (3) What professional rules of ethics are unique to the advocacy space? (4) Does the requirement of professionalism for advocates serve a gatekeeping function, keeping non-traditional advocates outside the advocacy space? (5) What are the boundaries of zealous advocacy? (6) Does professionalism also require an advocate to be a public citizen? If so, what does that entail? Students will explore these questions through engagement with case studies, case law, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 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 the professional obligations.

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

Sequence and Prerequisites: None

Evaluation: This is a three-hour graded course. Grades will be based on written assignments, classroom participation, and a final examination.

694: Dispute Resolution Team

Dispute Resolution Team is a graded experiential advocacy course conducted in the fall (two hours) and spring (two hours) semesters for a total of four credit hours. Enrollment is by audition only. Per ABA Standard 310, to earn two credit hours per semester, each student must account for 90 hours of time.

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. Students who join the Dispute Resolution Team may state their preference on what type of competition they prefer, but final selection will be made by the Advocacy Director and selected students should be prepared to compete in any assigned dispute resolution competition.

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.

Students are selected for Dispute Resolution Board through an audition process which is traditionally held in mid May following final examinations.

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. Grades will be based on a written memo relating to the competition, Dispute Resolution Board participation, and preparation and professionalism in practices and at the competition.

Course Classification: Experiential

694: Advanced Moot Court

Advanced Moot Court is a graded experiential appellate advocacy course conducted in the fall (2 hours) and spring (2 hours) semesters for a total of four credit hours. Enrollment is by audition only. Per ABA Standard 310, in order to earn two credit hours per semester, each student must account for 90 hours of time. Eligibility for Moot Court requires the prerequisite of Moot Court and the co-requisite of Professional Responsibility in Advocacy. Advanced Appellate Advocacy, Trial Advocacy, and Evidence are highly recommended.

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 either a summer training program that will be provided remotely via Zoom or a serious of trainings held on campus at the beginning of the fall semester. 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.

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 Team is a two-hour graded course. Grades will be based on participation and performance in the moot court training program, the completion of the written competition brief, participating in Moot Court Board activities (such as conducting moot court practice sessions with other moot court members), a graded dress rehearsal before the Anderson Center Director prior to the competition, and preparation and professionalism in practices and at the competition.

Course Classification: Experiential