Course Descriptions
Elective Courses
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6700 - 1937: FDR's Court-Packing Plan and the Transformation of the Federal Constitution Seminar
(2 hours). This course is an inquiry into a critical period in which presidential politics clashed with traditional understandings of American Constitutional Law. Four basic elements of the “constitutional crisis” of 1937 will be studied. (1) President Roosevelt’s notorious “court-packing” plan; (2) the national legal and political debate about the scope of national legislative power in the Great Depression; (3) the debate over the meaning of “liberty” as defined in “economic due process” cases that restricted federal and state progressive legislation; and (4) the conflict between the President, Congress and Supreme Court in the deepening foreign crisis of the 1930’s leading.
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5702 - Agency & Partnership
(2 hours). Legal principles concerning association in business by agency, partnership, and other unincorporated forms.
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6500 - Agricultural Biotechnology Law
(2 or 3 hours). Law and Policy related to agricultural biotechnology. Topics include intellectual property rights, domestic regulation of agricultural biotechnology, comparison with European laws, and international agricultural biotechnology issues. No prerequisites.
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6500 - Agricultural Environmental Law
(2 or 3 hours). Addresses environmental issues in the agricultural sector. Topics include wetlands, concentrated animal feeding operations, agricultural non-point source pollution, farm bill environmental programs (e.g. conservation reserve, swampbuster, sodbuster), and pesticide regulation. This course complements and deepens understanding of the environmental laws studied in the Environmental Law survey course. However, there are no pre-requisites for enrollment.
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6311 - American Indian Law Review
(1 hour). Prerequisite: American Indian Law Review membership. Production of a written note or comment for the Review or other approved activities associated with production of the Review.
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5913 - American Legal History
(3 hours). The development and characteristics of American legal institutions and basic themes in American law and legal philosophy.
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6100 - Animals & Agricultural Production
(2 hours). This course provides students the opportunity to understand the existing legal structure and theory applied to modern animal science and to the use of animals in agricultural production. This course is a valuable preparation and learning experience for those students who are interested in agriculture and the on-going debate about agriculture as a production system. This course prepares students to analyze legal arguments, statutes, regulations, and judicial opinions related to animals and agricultural production. This course will allow the students to respond in a professional and accurate fashion about the legal, public policy, and scientific issues involved in the use of animals in agricultural production and contested by the animal rights movement.
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5703 - Antitrust Law
(3 hours). Federal and state antitrust laws approached on the basis of type of conduct, i.e., monopolies; mergers; price control by private business; exclusive dealing contracts; fair trade pricing; agreements not to compete; discrimination in distribution and refusals to deal; and unfair trade practices.
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6100 - Antitrust Law II
(3 hours). Prerequisite: Antitrust. This course will cover virtually all aspects of the antitrust laws including an introduction to the application of Sections 1 (acts in unreasonable restraint of trade), Section 2 (monopolizing or attempting to monopolize) of the Sherman Act, and Section 3 (exclusive dealing arrangements) of the Clayton Act to business practices in the commercial marketplace. It will also cover additional substantive areas such as the Robinson-Patman Act (price discrimination) and mergers and acquisitions under Section 7 of the Clayton Act. Finally, it will deal with the special problems of antitrust enforcement, litigation tactics, trial and settlement of antitrust cases and other similar subjects. It will also deal with exemptions from the antitrust laws such as State Action Doctrine and Noerr-Pennington Doctrine.
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6700 - Applied Intellectual Property Seminar
(2 hours). This course is dedicated to the practical application of intellectual property law in the legal and business arenas. The goal of the course is to teach the student awareness of the factors that affect the decision-making process for real-world intellectual property issues. Student will critically evaluate the business, economic, and political considerations related to intellectual property decision-making, while contemporaneously evaluating the underlying substantive intellectual property law associated with the issue.
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6110 - Bioethics & Law Seminar
(2 hours). This seminar examines selected legal, ethical, social and policy problems posed by advances in biomedical technologies. Specific coverage and paper topics will depend upon student interest. Typically, coverage includes issues concerning human reproduction and birth, human genetics, organ transplantation, definition of death and life and death decisions, and regulation of research involving human subjects. All students must submit a paper meeting the College of Law's graduation writing requirement.
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6100 - Business of Law
(2 hours). This course will expose students to various real-world considerations that will inform their entry into private practice in today’s marketplace. It will focus on the business of law, various law practice management issues, client relations, conflicts, the structure and nature of law firms and in-house legal departments, and current developments within the legal profession.
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5810 - Capital Punishment and the Judicial Process
(2 or 3 hours). The study of the death penalty in the United States, including: the history of capital punishment; arguments supporting and opposing capital punishment; constitutional issues under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments; the role of mitigating and aggravating evidence in guiding the sentencer's decision to impose; exclusion of jurors; use of psychiatric experts in capital trials; state post-conviction remedies; the scope of federal habeas review; constitutional challenges to the arbitrary imposition of the death sentence of those deserving of death; the recently-expanded federal death penalty; and international law and capital punishment.
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6113 - Children and the Law
(3 hours). Prerequisites: Family Law and Constitutional Law. Children and their relationship with parents and the state in reference to a child's name, education and health care; neglect; abuse; termination of parental rights; adoption; and new reproductive technologies.
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5602 - Comparative Indigenous Peoples Law Seminar
(2 hours). The seminar will examine the differences and similarities between Canadian, United States, Australian and New Zealand laws affecting native peoples. Participants in the seminar will include students from the University of Ottawa Law School, University of Saskatchewan, Aukland University, Victoria University, and Monash University attending via television. Professors from these schools will co-moderate. Paper required. Federal Indian Law is not a prerequisite, but recommended.
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6020 - Comparative Law
(2 or 3 hours). A comparison of the corresponding features of the American system of law and the systems of law of other nations.
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6321 - Competitions
(1 hour). Students who participate on a trial or appellate advocacy competition team sponsored by the College of Law and directly supervised by the Competition Director may enroll in this course.
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6100 - Computer Crime
(3 hours). As digital networks become increasingly pervasive and critical to our banking, power, telecommunications, health care, employment, law enforcement, and entertainment infrastructures, they become an increasingly tantalizing target to routine criminals, terrorists, and spies. A continuing increase in computer crime is thus a certainty, for, in the words of Willie Sutton, “that’s where the money is.” The first half of the course will examine the substance of computer crime, including hacking/cracking, threats, gambling, obscenity, child pornography, wiretapping, and criminal intellectual property offenses. The second half will examine the procedure of computer crime, including searching and seizing of computers and computer networks both with and without warrants, statutory privacy protections, and national security rules. The class will debate what technological and legal proposals, optimally balance privacy interests, free speech interests, business interests, and law enforcement and national security interests; and whether computer crime requires novel legislative and investigative responses or whether traditional notions of, and compilations of, criminal and constitutional law are adequate.
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6820 - Corporate Income Tax
(3 hours). This is the basic course on business taxation. This course looks at the tax consequences of organizing and running businesses as corporations and as tax-free small business corporations. Also the course looks at the tax consequences of mergers, acquisitions, and liquidations. This course is essential for business lawyers: even if you do no plan to be a tax lawyer, you need to appreciate the harsh tax realities that your clients face. Only Individual Income Taxation is a prerequisite, but it may be taken concurrently or waived on permission of the professor.
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5830 - Criminal Procedure II
(3 hours). Prerequisites: Criminal Law. This course covers the criminal justice process from the arrest to post-conviction issues. It addresses federal constitutional provisions, and the policies underlying these requirements and their impact on the roles of the prosecutor and defense counsel. Topics include: effective assistance of counsel; prosecutorial discretion; preliminary hearings; pre-trial motions; joinder and severance; discovery; exculpatory material; speedy trial; impartial jury; confrontation; plea bargaining and guilty pleas; sentencing; double jeopardy; and post-conviction matters.
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6320 - Directed Legal Research
(1 or 2 hours). Legal research and writing under the supervision of a faculty member. The student must write a paper of sufficient quality to be considered for publication in a law review or other publication. A student may enroll in one or two credit hours with supervising faculty member's permission.
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6100 - Electronic Discovery
(3 hours). This course covers issues associated with the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI) in civil litigation. Topics will include the duty to preserve ESI, the scope of e-discovery, the mechanics of requesting searching for, and producing ESI, and ethical issues associated with e-discovery.
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6700 - Employment Law Seminar
(2 hours). This seminar provides an overview of state and federal employment law regulating the private and public sectors, including major trends in the applicable laws, and allows students the opportunity to participate fully in both the presentation and discussion of relevant topics.
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6510 - Energy Law
(3 hours). This course comprehensively examines energy law both doctrinally and in a broader social and political context. Topics include the history, economics, and environmental considerations relevant to energy regulation; the regulatory context and policies espoused by that context; particular issues relevant to hydro, coal, oil, gas, nuclear, solar, and wind power; and the nexus between energy law and climate change. The course approach draws from both traditional doctrinal and seminar formats, which allows for discussion of current events relevant to the course topics.
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6100 - Entertainment Law
(3 hours). Entertainment Law is a business-focused approach to the law affecting many aspects of the entertainment industry. Areas covered will include motion pictures, television, music, theater, and publishing. The course will also cover the basics of intellectual property law, including copyrights, trademarks, privacy and publicity rights, and the law of idea protection, relating to the entertainment industry. The course will include lecture, class discussion and participation, and four mock entertainment contract negotiations.
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6523 - Environmental Law
(3 hours). This is a survey course designed to introduce students to the common law and statutory approaches pertaining to environmental issues such as population, economic growth, energy and pollution. The primary focus is on the major federal environmental protection statutes including the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, as well as statutes regulating pesticides and dealing with the testing of hazardous substances. Course coverage also includes examination of the administrative process and the role of courts in environmental litigation. Certain recurring themes animating the development of federal environmental law are emphasized, including the role of public interest, economics, scientific uncertainties and risk factors, and the government's need for relevant information regarding the effects of pollution on the environment in order to regulate effectively.
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6150 - Equal Employment Opportunity
(3 hours). Federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and federal regulations mandating affirmative action by federal contractors.
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6810 - Estate Planning
(3 hours). Prerequisites: Wealth Transfer Taxation. Maximization, preservation, and administration of wealth and its tax-conscious transfer through use of wills, trusts, future interests, and inter vivos gifts.
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6400 - Extern Placement
(3 hours). This course allows students the opportunity to observe and assist in various legal settings. Placement opportunities will include courts and governmental agencies. Mediation training and placements also offered. Students will be required to spend at least 10 hours a week at their placement; submit weekly journal entries; bi-monthly meetings with the clinical director; and submit a final paper. Enrollment in the Issues in Professionalism course is required. Permission required to enroll.
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5610 - Federal Indian Law
(2 or 3 hours). The law governing the relationship between the Indian tribes, the states and the United States. Topics include the history of federal Indian law and policy; the federal-tribal relationship; tribal sovereignty, federal supremacy and states rights; the jurisdictional framework; criminal jurisdiction; civil jurisdiction; taxation and regulation of reservation economic development, including environmental regulation and regulation of Indian gaming; Indian religion and culture; water rights; fishing and hunting rights.
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6400 - Federal Indian Law Externship
(Up to 12 hours). This clinical program allows students to work one semester for federal attorneys engaged in Indian law litigation and policymaking in Washington, D.C. Students have interned at the United States Department of Justice and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Interns are expected to participate in weekly substantive presentations and meetings on significant litigation and policy matters and are required to complete two independent writing projects.
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6700 - Federal Indian Water Law
(2 hours). Water rights and their management increasingly present critical legal and economic development challenges, and in Oklahoma – as throughout the West – those challenges are often made more complex by the interplay of state law rights and American Indian tribal rights. This course will provide students the opportunity both to study a fascinating and unique area of law as well as examine the complexity of inter-sovereign resource disputes. The course will explore the history and policy that have shaped water law, and building on a review of foundational Indian law cases as well as relevant history, we will examine the substantive rules of federal Indian law cases and – at least as importantly – the complex intergovernmental processes in which these rules are applied (e.g., general stream adjudications, the McCarran Amendment, the federal criteria and procedure for American Indian water rights settlements, the Montana approach, etc.) This course will require a paper that can be used to satisfy the Graduation Writing Requirement.
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5753 - Federal Securities Regulation
(3 hours). This course provides an introduction to the regulation of the issuance and trading of securities. Topics include requirements regarding the registration of securities, exemptions from registration, and civil liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, with special attention to liability for fraud and insider trading.
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6700 - Feminist Jurisprudence Seminar
(2 hours). Historical background of feminist legal theory and development of a constitutional standard for sex equality; theoretical approaches to gender in equality; coverage of specific topics and paper topics depends on student interest but typically includes family and intimate relations, crime, athletics, and military topics. The course paper satisfies the Graduation Writing Requirement.
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6190 - Health Law
(2 or 3 hours). The legal aspects of medicine; civil liability of medical professionals and health care providers; organization and regulation of the medical profession; uses of medical science in litigation; selected health sciences and public policy issues such as human reproduction, right to treatment, and mental health problems.
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6210 - Immigration Law
(3 hours). Constitutional, statutory, and regulatory framework for the admission, exclusion, and deportation of non-citizens who seek immigrant and non-immigrant status in the United States; refugee and asylum law and policy; citizenship acquisition.
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6700 - Indian Gaming Law and Regluation Seminar
(2 hours). This course begins with a review of the legal and political history of federal/tribal relations, focusing on the litigation of the 1970’s and 1980’s through the SCOTUS ruling in Cabazon (1987). The class then studies the pivotal decisions related to the compacting and scope of gaming wars of the1990’s, and discusses the comparison of the tribal experiences around the country with those of the Oklahoma tribes up to the first significant Class III tribal/state gaming compact in Oklahoma in 2004. The regulatory roles of tribes, states and the NIGC are studied in detail. Specifically the statutory interpretations, regulatory changes and case law determinations in regard to the difference between Class II and Class III gaming. Techniques of financing and development, as well as the use of management agreements, development agreements, equipment lease agreements, loan agreements and consulting agreements as key vehicles for development are also covered.
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5732 - Insurance
(2 hours). Life, health, property, and liability insurance, including the nature of insurance, insurance interest, interests of the named insured and others, subrogation, the insured event, exceptions, warranties, representations, concealment, formation of the contract, waiver and estoppel.
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6520 - Intellectual Property
(2 or 3 hours). The nature of the rights; acquisition and enforcement of, and property and contract interests in, patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
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6313 - Interdisciplinary Training Program in Child Abuse & Neglect
(3 hours). Prerequisite: prior completion of, or concurrent enrollment in Family Law and Children and the Law. Each student enrolls for an entire academic year for three hours each semester.
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6040 - International Business Transactions
(3 hours) This course will focus on the legal aspects of business activity that takes place in two or more countries. It will examine the sale of goods and services across national boundaries, licensing of intellectual property, foreign investment, and the resolution of international business disputes. Although regulation of international trade (the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, etc.) is an element in the course, it is not the central focus. The course includes study of fundamental principles of international taxation and antitrust law.
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6100 - International Environmental Climate Change Law
(2 or 3 hours). International Environmental Law: Climate Change provides a general introduction to the formation and history of public international law and the international legal system, and then examines issues of transboundary pollution and environmental protection. Within that context, the course examines the opportunities and obstacles to addressing global climate change.
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6400 - International Human Rights Clinic
(3 hours). Focusing on indigenous populations, students in the International Human Rights Clinic research and investigate issues impacting indigenous populations in selected countries. Using treaties and international law as a foundation, students work collaboratively utilizing a variety of resources to conduct their research. Their work culminates in the submission of a “shadow report” to the Council at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The students also present their research and conclusions before a university audience. Students must have completed either Federal Indian Law, International Law Foundations, International Human Rights, and/or International Environmental Law prior to enrollment in the clinic.
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6700 - International Human Rights Seminar
(2 hours). This course provides an intensive survey of international human rights law and practice. The objective of this course is to examine the increasingly complex body of substantive law and procedural mechanisms related to the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms in international law and practice. After considering the historical origins of human rights and humanitarian law, this course examines the sources of international human rights. It includes the analysis of treaties, customary international law, principles of law and other sources of international law applicable to the protection of human rights. Issues such as death penalty, abortion, torture, disappearances, discrimination, and right to fair trial will be discussed through out the semester. Along the way, It examines issues related to impunity and immunities, international humanitarian law, genocide, and international criminal tribunals, as well as the enforcement of human rights norms in domestic law, such as the U.S. Alien Tort Statute. This course also explores the various mechanisms for the protection & promotion of international human rights, including those developed by international organizations such as the United Nations - Council of Human Rights. Special emphasis is placed on litigation before international tribunals such as the UN Committee on Human Rights, European Court on Human Rights and the Inter- American Commission/Court on Human Rights.
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6060 - International Law Foundations
(3 hours). Public International Law, sometimes also called the "Law of Nations," is concerned with the definition of legal rights and duties among nation states (including those individuals who act on their behalf) and international organizations. This course offers a survey of the norms, rules and institutions that make up the international legal system and which regulate interaction among states, and between states and individuals. An understanding of the basic principles of public international law is fundamental for anyone interested in taking further courses in international law.
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6552 - International Petroleum Transactions
(2 hours). This course considers the legal issues and transactions relating to the exploration, production, and marketing of petroleum-the largest and most important commodity traded worldwide. Coverage includes how countries settle competing claims to oil and gas reserves, how host governments or state-owned oil and gas companies contract with private companies to explore and develop oil and gas resources, and the contracts that parties engaged in such activities enter into with each other. This course also covers the international marketing of crude oil and natural gas.
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6400 - Issues in Professionalism
(2 hours). This course will involve discussions drawn from contemporary readings about issues presented in the practice of law; ethical dilemmas; and the judicial system. A final paper will be required. This course is required for externship placement. S/U graded.
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5932 - Jurisprudence Seminar
(2 hours). The 2000-year-old Catholic Church played a pivotal role in the formation of the western legal culture. Does it have anything of relevance left to offer that culture in the 21st century? The seminar will explore this question. The topic is particularly timely because a majority of the justices on the Supreme Court are Catholic; Catholics represent a pivotal voting demographic in the American political landscape; and the issue of religion and religious values in the public square is hotly debated as some warn of a creeping theocracy and others of the naked public square, devoid of religious faith.
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6700 - Land Use & Property Rights Seminar
(2 hours). This seminar studies governmental control of private land use through zoning, regulation, and urban renewal; (2) constitutional doctrines that limit the government's ability to take private property by eminent domain or regulation; (3) the importance to a nation's economic development of legally-recognized private land use rights; (4) recourse for purchasers unable to make the use for which they purchased a parcel of land; (5) private land use control via easements, covenants, and equitable servitudes; and other topics involving land use and property rights proposed by students and accepted by the professor.
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6700 - Law & Literature Seminar
(2 hours). This course will involve reading and discussion of selected classical and contemporary literary works which have a legal theme or influence. Illustrative readings may include: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Trial by Franz Kafka, Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare, and The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols. Because this seminar will involve a series of shorter writing assignments, it will not satisfy the Graduation Writing Requirement.
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6700 - Law & Politics Seminar
(2 hours). This course will study the legislative process and the political forces underlying that process including: where ideas for legislation originate, bill drafting, the committee process, amendments, internal and external lobbying, campaigning for office, and other relevant issues. The course will focus on the constitutional, statutory, and internal rules governing the Oklahoma Legislature. Many of these topics have practical applications in other state and federal legislative venues.
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6400 - Lawyering
(2 hours). This course is team taught by members of the practicing bar and the bench, covering important areas of practice for the single practitioner and small office practitioner. This course addresses law office management, ethics, civility, and practical drafting, plus practice pointers by specialists in areas of general practice in which the new attorney may be involved if he or she practices alone or with one or two other lawyers.
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6163 - Lawyering in the 21st Century
(3 hours). Advanced course in law and ethics of lawyering, with primary focus on issues at the forefront of the modern legal profession, worldwide, nationally and locally. Selection of specific topics will vary with student interest, but will likely include: expanding confidentiality exceptions and other revisions to the ABA Model Rules; application to lawyers of federal legislation, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Federal Trade Commission activities to relax anti-competitive ethics restrictions; multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional practices; innovations in delivery of legal services; lawyer discipline; legal malpractice and judicial ethics.
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6100 - Legal Methods
(2 hours). This course is an introduction to the study of law. Students will learn to interpret statutes and to analyze and synthesize judicial decisions. The course does not focus on the substantive or procedural law of a particular legal field. Instead, students are taught the methods of studying the law through the analysis of a broad array of legal materials. During the course students will begin to develop a vocabulary appropriate to the study of law, and will be introduced to foundational concepts of our legal system.
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6100 - Lincoln's Constitution and the Crisis of Union
(2 hours). This course commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the administration of President Abraham Lincoln, whose understanding of the Constitutional and his powers and duties as President of the United States are central to an understanding of how the Civil War reshaped the American political order. The course will focus on three themes: (1) The constitutional, philosophical debate about the character of a ‘more perfect union’ with special attention to the Dred Scott case, federalism and the power of Congress to ban slavery in the western territories. (2) The limited constitutional commitment to human rights in the re-1868 Constitution, with special attention to the Dred Scott litigation, its controversial ‘holdings’ about the status of African American people under the Constitution, and other antebellum constitutional arguments about human rights issues leading to emancipation and the Reconstruction constitutional amendments. (3) The debate about the national government’s powers to preserve the Union, including the South’s claim of a constitutional right to secede, Lincoln’s claim of presidential authority to resist secession, habeas corpus, free speech and other civil liberties limiting national power to resist insurrection. Students will have an opportunity to satisfy the Graduation Writing Requirement in this course.
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6700 - Litigation Practice Seminar
(2 hours). This course focuses on several basic skills used in a litigation practice. The course will approach litigation practice in a practical manner and will be taught in a mentoring style. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: identify basic skills used in a litigation practice, understand the use and limitation of various negotiation styles, identify principles of persuasive legal writing, understand the essential need for ethical legal practice, demonstrate the use of discovery tools, and develop an understanding of the organization of a legal case.
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5763 - Mergers and Acquisitions
(3 hours). Prerequisites: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Corporations. The course provides an understanding of the issues arising in business acquisition (and divestiture) transactions. Coverage is given to theories underlying acquisitions, alternative acquisition techniques and planning considerations that bear on the choice among those techniques.
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6100 - Mineral Title Examination
(2 hours). This course examines the encompassing comparative laws of Oklahoma, Texas, and other oil producing states. The course examines the study of relevant law and preparation of a mineral title opinion.
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6700 - NAFTA & Regional Trade Agreements Seminar
(2 hours). This course examines the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). After first exploring the nature of international law generally and the economic basis of free trade, the course reviews the history and legal framework of the NAFTA. It includes examination of NAFTA's main obligations and its coverage with respect to trade in goods, services, investment and intellectual property, dispute settlement mechanisms, and the impact of NAFTA in selected industries. Comparisons will be made with regional integration processes in South America (Common Market of the South - MERCOSUR) and Europe (the European Union). These regional trade agreements will be analyzed as illustrative of numerous trading blocs, which have been recently concluded.
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5633 - Native American Natural Resources
(3 hours). After an overview of the history of U.S. native policy and the basic doctrines of Indian law, this course covers a variety of issues relating to tribal interests in and jurisdiction over environmental resources. Course coverage includes tribal rights to land; land use and environmental protection in Indian country; economic and natural resource development issues (including grazing, minerals, timber and taxation); water rights; hunting and fishing rights; as well as international perspectives on indigenous resources. Throughout the course, students will consider the roles of the tribal, federal, and state governments in resource regulation and use.
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6700 - NCAA Infractions Seminar
(2 hours). This seminar provides an overview of the NCAA Major Infractions process. In addition to case studies, the seminar will analyze current events in athletics compliance, examine the role and responsibility of an Athletics Compliance Department, and feature several guest speakers.
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6540 - Oil and Gas
(3 or 4 hours). Nature of property interests in oil and gas; conveyancing of interests in oil and gas; legal interests created by oil and gas leases; validity of leases; habendum, drilling, and rental clauses; assignment of interests of lessor and lessee; rents and royalties; and conservation of oil and gas.
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6550 - Oil and Gas Contracts
(2 or 3 hours). Examination of contracts used in the oil and gas industry for exploration, production, and development of oil and gas properties and for investment; the nature of the relationships created by such contracts; the rights and duties of the parties; income tax consequences and governmental regulation of such contracts.
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6100 - Oil and Gas Practice
(2 hours). This course is an examination of, and practical skills approach into, oil and gas practice in Oklahoma. This course will examine how oil and gas wells are drilled in Oklahoma and the important rules, regulations and statutes that govern many facets of oil and gas exploration and conservation. From the filing of the Intent to Drill; to settling surface damages; permitting wells through the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC); the jurisdiction of the OCC; the OCC Rules of Practice; and additional developmental drilling; pipelines; horizontal drilling; negotiated agreements; unitization; underground storage; environmental issues and water law will all be covered along with an examination of the relevant case law.
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6331 - Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology (OKJOLT)
(1 hour). Electronically published law review dedicated to the convergence of law and technology.
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6391 - Oklahoma Law Review
(1 hour). Prerequisite: Oklahoma Law Review membership. Production of a written note or comment for the Review or other approved activities associated with production of the Review.
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6100 - Patents
(3 hours). This course provides a comprehensive introduction to basic concepts of patent law and policy. No technical background is required. The course addresses the history of patents as well as the policy arguments for and against using patents as a mechanism for inducing innovation. Students learn the basics of patent drafting and prosecution, patent claims, and claim construction. The class then addresses in depth the central patentability criteria of subject matter, utility, nonobviousness, and disclosure. Other topics of importance that are covered in the class include: the relationship between patents and other forms of intellectual property protection, particularly trade secrecy and copyright; the intersection of patent and antitrust law; the role of the two major institutions responsible for administering the patent system, the Patent and Trademark Office and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; and the role of patents in the two major industries of the knowledge-based economy, information technology and biotechnology.
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5740 - Payment Systems
(2 or 3 hours). This course is an introduction to the laws governing the transmission of value through the economy. How do people pay for things? The answers in the 21st century are complex involving a blend of traditional paper based systems and new higher technology options. The course covers the checking system, the credit and debit card system, electronic funds transfer, letters of credit, internet payments, evolving payment methods, negotiable instruments and the securities trading and settlement system. Substantive law covered will be Articles 3, 4 and 4A (and to a lesser extent 5 and 8) of the UCC as well as federal legislation such as the Expedited Funds Availability Act, parts of the Truth in Lending Act and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (and implementing Regulations). Skills developed will be the reading of statutes, navigating areas where both state and federal law operate without complete pre-emption, creatively applying traditional law to novel forms of transactions.
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6830 - Pensions and Health Benefits
(2 or 3 hours). Planning, establishment, and administration of pension, health care and other employee benefit plans under the tax and labor laws.
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6712 - Products Liability Seminar
(2 hours). Regulation and civil liability of manufacturers and distributors of defective products. Development of the concept of recovery for injuries caused by products; survey of civil actions for harm resulting from defective and dangerous products; study of problems associated with hazard identification and the process of evaluation of risk; government regulation of dangerous and defective products; review of Consumer Products Safety Act and current legislation dealing with injuries and remedies in specific areas.
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6100 - Risk, Public Policy & Law
(3 hours). This course focuses on how concepts of risk serve to justify and shape public policies, legal rules, and risk management practices. It will introduce some of the primary methods for analyzing potentially risky policies and managing risk. The course begins with a focus on the definition of risk as it applies to public policy, and as it has been used to analyze and inform policies and laws designed to address risk. It then turns to the differences between formal assessments of risk and the “perceived risk: and social, political and institutional responses that typically drive public policy. These concepts will then be applied to a set of specific cases involving environmental, energy, natural disaster, and security concerns.
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6100 - Selected Issues in Trusts Law
(2 hours). Prerequisite: Wills and Trusts. This course is a targeted survey of trust law with selected in depth identification and analysis of issues involved in the creation, administration, modification, and termination of express trusts (self-settled, third party, private, charitable); exploration of legally created "constructive" and "resulting" trusts; comparison of uniform acts with state law and common law; business trusts; drafting and writing opportunities. This course can be used to satisfy the Graduation Writing Requirement.
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6560 - Title Examination and Assurance
(2 or 3 hours). Conveyances, with emphasis on the examination of abstracts of title to real property.
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6100 - Trademarks
(2 or 3 hours). This course provides in-depth treatment of law and practice related to trademarks and unfair competition including complex areas like trade dress, dilution and cyber squatting. The focus will be on both substantive and procedural aspects of this area of law covering the theories, precedents and practice perspectives.
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6700 - Tribal Courts Seminar
(2 hours). This seminar is a study of Tribal Courts as a cornerstone of Tribal Sovereignty. Each student will research and make a presentation on a Native American tribe, its court system and the forum of judicial redress.
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6580 - Water Law
(2 or 3 hours). The system of water rights; riparian, appropriation, and prescriptive rights; stream, surface, and ground water; transfer and termination of rights; injuries caused by water; development of water supplies; federal-state, interstate, and intrastate conflicts; water pollution control; federal and Indian rights; and federal water resource problems.
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6843 - Wealth Transfer Taxation
(3 hours). Federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, applicable to gratuitous transfers.
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6700 - White Collar Crime Seminar
(2 hours). This seminar will explore the law and practice of white-collar prosecution and defense. Through a mix of lecture, discussion, and in-class exercises, we will cover most major aspects of white-collar practice, including investigation, indictment, plea negotiations, trial, and sentencing. The course will cover all major federal white-collar crime statutes, including wire/mail fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud, money laundering, and Sarbanes-Oxley related crimes, and will learn some of the more practical aspects of white-collar practice, including government cooperation, grand jury work, and various agreements to dispose of cases, including deferred-prosecution agreements and plea agreements. Papers written for this seminar will satisfy the graduation writing requirement.
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6100 - Wind Law
(2 hours). This course will cover wind project development, state and federal legislative and regulatory status and processes, permitting processes, and construction and other document negotiation and content.