Spring 2024 First Day Assignments

Name Professor Assignment
ADVANCED CONTRACTS CRESPI The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
ADVANCED CONTRACTS SEMINAR: DRAFTING FLYNN

Translating the Business Deal into Contract Concepts. 

This unit provides the framework for the course. It teaches students the analytic skill that deal lawyers use when drafting and reviews the basic contract concepts from a deal lawyer’s perspective.

Reading Assignment
Chapter 1 – A Few Words.
Chapter 2 – The Building Blocks of Contracts.
Chapter 3 – Translating the Business Deal – Part 1.
Chapter 4 – Translating the Business Deal – Part 2.
Chapter 5 – A Contract’s Parts.

Drafting Assignment
None
ADVANCED CORPORATE TAX HANNA

You will need the Code and Regulations (the one-volume version used in Income Taxation is fine). 

You will also need  (1) the study problems, (2) the handout materials (cases and rulings) and (3) chapter 94 from the Bittker & Lokken treatise -- these three items will be available outside of my office -- Room 266 of Storey Hall -- beginning at noon on Thursday, January 4th.

The first class will meet on Monday, January 8th.  Read pages 59-60 in the study problems (Lesson 9), read the first five cases in the handout materials, then read 94.1 and 94.2.1 in chapter 94.  Then go to Lesson 11A (Type A Reorganizations beginning on page 67) in the study problems and work problem 1 on page 68 (skip the alternatives in problem 1).  I will hand out a syllabus in class.  Bring your Code and Regulations to the first class.
ADVANCED CRIMINAL LAW: EIGHTH AMENDMENT LAW RYAN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
ADVANCED LEGAL REASONING (In person class) BIRDSONG

Instead, of using physical books, our class will be using an online classroom called Matrix. Soon, you should be receiving an email from Matrix with login information. For the first class, you must:  

  1. Access the Matrix Online Classroom
  2. Read the Course Syllabus posted on Matrix under “Resources”
  3. Answer the Online Diagnostic Test (MBE Pre-test): upload to the Matrix system before our first class. To access the MBE Pre-test, go to the MBE Pre-Test module on Matrix (the first module in the Matrix classroom).
ADVANCED LEGAL REASONING (Online class) BIRDSONG

You should soon receive an email from support@lawstudentonline.com with login information for the online platform we'll be using. Log on to the platform and complete the module entitled "Student Pre Work and Syllabus" (including carefully reading the Syllabus).
ADVANCED LEGAL RESEARCH  WOLFF The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
ADVANCED LEGAL WRITING GARNER The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
AIRLINE & RAILROAD LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW  ELIFSON  The professor has not yet submitted an assignment.  
ANTITRUST ROGERS, P. The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & LAW SHAH The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
ASIAN AMERICAN JURISPRUDENCE YU The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SAUTTER The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
BUSINESS ENTERPRISE  STEINBERG The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
BUSINESS LAW BOOT CAMP HINTON The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
CHAPTER 11 REORGANIZATION ESSERMAN/PARSONS The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION   YU The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SEMINAR VAN NOORD The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
CONFLICT OF LAWS COLANGELO The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
CONSTITUTIONAL CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: ADJUDICATION RYAN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I (SEC P360) KAHN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I (SEC P361) KAHN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW II LEATHERBURY The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
COPYRIGHT CARSTENS  The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
CORPORATE & TRANSACTIONAL LEGAL RESEARCH GALLINA The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
CORPORATE COMPLIANCE HINTON The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
COPORATE FINANCE & ACQUISITIONS SMATHERS The first assignments are on the TWEN site.  
CREDITORS' RIGHTS  HALE

1/8, Warren and Westbrook, Assignment 1, Fighting over money.

1/10, Warren and Westbrook, Assignment 2, Collecting from Consumers.
CRIMINAL LAW (SEC 1) RUBEN

Our book will be Joshua Dressler and Stephen Garvey, Criminal Law Cases and Materials, Ninth Edition (West Academic Publishing 2022). Our first class will be:

  • Section 1, Thursday, January 4, 9:30 am in the Hillcrest Lecture Hall

For the first day, please read pages 1-19 of the textbook. 

As you read, consider these questions: What is distinctive about the criminal law? How does your answer to that question relate to basic protections, like the presumption of innocence, that we grant (at least in theory) to criminal defendants?”
CRIMINAL LAW (SEC 2) RUBEN

Our book will be Joshua Dressler and Stephen Garvey, Criminal Law Cases and Materials, Ninth Edition (West Academic Publishing 2022). Our first class will be:

  • Section 2, Thursday, January 4, 3:30 pm in the Hillcrest Lecture Hall

For the first day, please read pages 1-19 of the textbook. 

As you read, consider these questions: What is distinctive about the criminal law? How does your answer to that question relate to basic protections, like the presumption of innocence, that we grant (at least in theory) to criminal defendants?”
CRIMINAL LAW (SEC 3) MOSS The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY JOHNSON, J./SHIPCHANDLER The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: LAW, POLICY & PRACTICE LOPEZ-LOFTIS The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
DRAFTING ENERGY CONTRACTS  SULLIVAN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
DUE DILIGENCE IN BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS  LAWRENCE

The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
EMINENT DOMAIN  MILTON The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION  HAYDEN

Please read pages 1-11 and 17-28 in the casebook for the first week.

The casebook is Sullivan, Bornstein & Zimmer, Cases and Materials on Employment Discrimination (10th ed. 2022). I'll distribute the syllabus on the first day of class.
ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES LAW COLEMAN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
ESTATE GIFT & INCOME TAX BEARD The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
EVIDENCE  BAVLI
  1. Fisher pages 1-8 [top], and 2) the syllabus
EVIDENTIARY MECHANICS BIRMINGHAM The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
EXPERT WITNESS IN CIVIL LITIGATION HUTCHINSON The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
FAMILY LAW LEATHERBERRY

This course will meet in room 207 Florence Hall.

CB = Contemporary Family Law casebook, Sixth Edition (Abrams, Cahn, McClain, Ross, Matsumura, Weaver)

Chapter 1: Families and Family Law in Contemporary America

Moore v. City of East Cleveland

CB1-19 (skip all problems, skip "Notes and Questions")

Chapter 2: Entering Marriage 

Zablocki v. Redhail

CB 86-93 (stop before the dissent)
FEDERAL COURTS MARTINEZ The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
FIRST AMENDMENT & FREEDOM OF SPEECH  STEFFENSEN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
FIRST AMENDMENT: THE RELIGION CLAUSES TAYLOR

For our first class, (1) sign up for the course website on Canvas; (2) using the course website, access and review the Syllabus and Reading Assignments documents using the links on the course home page; and (3) read pages 1-11 from Michael W. McConnell et al., Religion and the Constitution (Aspen, 5th ed. 2022).  See you on Thursday.
IMMIGRATION LAW MICALE/SAENZ-RODRIGUEZ The professor has not yet submitted an assignment.
INCOME TAXATION MAZUR

This course will meet in room 201 Florence Hall.

Please refer to Canvas course page for first day of class assignment. Please note that we will not be meeting for class on Thursday, January 4th. I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!
INFORMATION PRIVACY LAW MAZZURCO The professor has not yet submitted an assignment.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SOSTEK The professor has not yet submitted an assignment.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LICENSING LAW MCLEROY

From the Contreras textbook:

Introduction
Chapter 1

Other Materials:

Paragraphs 1-9, 26-54, 75-123, and the Prayer for Relief of the New York Times' complaint against Microsoft and Open AI, available at 
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS WULFF/FINKELSTEIN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
INTERNATIONAL CRIMES  TURNER, JENIA The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT PRETORIUS The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
LAW, LITERATURE & MEDICINE MAYO The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
LAWYERING SKILLS BIRDSONG

Before our first class, you must:

(1) Log on and make sure you can access the MPT Matrix course site. You'll receive an email from Matrix with log-in information by Monday, August 14.

(2) Review the course syllabus posted on the MPT Matrix course under "Resources"
LEGISLATION & REGULATION (SEC P09) CORTEZ The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
LEGISLATION & REGULATION (SEC P32) HAYDEN

The casebook for the course is Eskridge, Gluck & Nourse, Statutes, Regulation, and Interpretation: Legislation and Administration in the Republic of Statutes (1st ed. 2014). There is also a set of Supplementary Readings that may be downloaded from a link at the bottom of the Canvas page (it's a large file, so it may take a while to download).

For the first week, please skim through pages 1023-1041 in the casebook. Yes, that's the US Constitution--we'll be starting the course with a quick review of the basic lawmaking framework.

I'll pass out the syllabus on the first day of class.
LRWA II (ALL SECTIONS) ALL LW PROFS. The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
M&A CONTRACT DRAFTING WEST The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
MASS TORT LITIGATION SIMON The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS SAUTTER

1.     Read Hill, Quinn, & Davidoff Solomon, Mergers and Acquisitions: Law, Theory, and Practice (3d 2023) pages 1-28

 

2.     Read Frank A. Gevurtz & Christina M. Sautter, Mergers & Acquisitions Law (2018) § 1.1 (this book is available for free on the West Academic Study Aids Collection site. If you have not already done so, you should register for that site using your 51做厙 e-mail address in the format @smu.edu at .)

 

3.     Watch Merger Waves & Why Engage in M&A? Lecture Video posted on Canvas under Modules – Video Lectures and here:   

 

4.     Read WSJ article:  (see below for WSJ access) and Reuters article:


5.     Read Hill, Quinn, & Davidoff Solomon, Mergers and Acquisitions: Law, Theory, and Practice (3d 2023) pages 31-39 and DGCL Sections 251 & 259 (posted on Canvas under Modules – Handouts and Links)

 

6.     Complete question 3 on page 60 of Hill, Quinn, & Davidoff Solomon, Mergers and Acquisitions: Law, Theory, and Practice (3d 2023) and be prepared to discuss the answer.

 

You have access to the WSJ for free through 51做厙. Registration instructions for 51做厙’s group subscription to the Wall Street Journal (51做厙 network address is required for registration.): .
PARTNERSHIP TAX HANNA

The casebook is Fundamentals of Partnership Taxation (11th ed.) by Schwarz, Lathrope and Hellwig.  You will also need the Code and Regulations (the one volume version is fine).

The first class will meet on Thursday, January 4th.  Please read Chapter 1 and pages 33-40 of Chapter 2.  Work the problem on pages 40-41.  We will go through the problem in class the first day.  I will hand out a syllabus during the first class.  Bring the casebook and Code and Regulations to the first class.
PATENT LITIGATION PHILBIN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
PERSPECTIVES OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM (Int'l LLMs only) YU The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
POLICE MISCONDUCT LITIGATION TITTLE/CLARK The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
PRE-TRIAL PRACTICE & ADVOCACY  JOHNSON, K./JOHNSON, B. The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING & FINANCE FOR LAWYERS DAWKINS The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
PRIVATE FUNDS: REGULATION, FORMATION, OPERATION DEEKEN/DANIEL The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
PRODUCTS LIABILITY PRESBY Please check the Canvas page for the syllabus and first day class assignment.
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY  CHATMAN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY  COX

Chapter 1 (pages 1-22) from the class book: Professional Responsibility: Problems and Materials, 14th ed., (Thomas D. Morgan, John S. Dzienkowski, Mitt Regan)
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR INT'L LLMS HURDLE The first assignment is the introduction and chapter one in the book, Ethical Problems in the Practice of Law, SIXTH EDITION Lerman, Schrag and Rubinson. ISBN 978-1-5438-4621-8 Aspen Publishing. 
PROPERTY (SEC 1) ROGERS, J. The professor has not yet submitted an assignment.  
PROPERTY (SEC 2) EHRMAN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
PROPERTY (SEC 3) TATE

For our first class on Thursday, Jan. 4, please read pp. 1-17 and 25-32 in Thomas W. Merrill, Henry E. Smith & Maureen E. Brady, Property: Principles and Policies (Fourth Edition).
PROPERTY FOR LLMS CAMP The professor has not yet submitted an assignment.  
RACE & AMERICAN LAW MARTINEZ The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
RACE & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY  PEGUES The professor has not yet submitted an assignment.  
REAL ESTATE TAXATION MAZUR Please refer to Canvas course page for first day of class assignment.
SECURED TRANSACTIONS REYES  The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
SECURITIES REGULATION HURT The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
SELECTED ISSUES IN SPORTS LAW COHEN/STUART

Class 1 – January 9, 2024

Introduction to Selected Topics in Sports Law

Required Readings:

- Shlensky v. Wrigley, 95 Ill. App. 2d 173, 237 N.E.2d 776 (Ill. App. Ct. 1968)

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Class 2 – January 16, 2024

Issues in Youth Sports

Required Readings:

- Sports Ethics: Chapter 5, pg. 77-83 (Parental Ethics)

- was-benched/ -

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STATE & LOCAL TAX JACKSON The syllabus was e-mailed to enrolled students.  If you are just joining the class and did not receive it, contact Kim Grace at kgrace@smu.edu. 
TAX & FISCAL POLICY  DRAPKIN  The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
TEXAS LEGISLATIVE PROCESS TURNER, JOHN

Reading Assignment for “Texas Legislative Process”

First class on January 8, 2024:

          The U.S. Constitution (available online)

  • Art. 1, Sec. 4
  • Art. 1, Sec. 8, Clause 3
  • Art. IV, Secs. 1, 2, 4
  • Art. VI
  • Amendments 10, 14, 15, 22, 24, 26

     

              The Texas Constitution (available online at           )

  • Article I
    • Sections other than 11a-c, 15a, 30-35
  • Article II
  • Article III
    • Sections 1-41, 56-58
  • Article IV
    • Sections 1-10, 12-22
  • Article XV
TEXAS MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY WILHITE The first reading assignment was e-mailed to the class.  If you are just joining the class and did not receive it, contact Kim Grace at kgrace@smu.edu. 
TEXAS TRIAL & APPELLATE PROCEDURE  CROSS

For this course we will be using Texas Civil Procedure: Trial and Appellate Practice 2022-2023 by Dorsaneo, et al and the newest version of the Texas Rules of Court. We will be starting with Chapter 1 of the textbook, so for the first day of class please read pages 1-32, together with any Texas Rules of Procedure that are referenced in the reading.
TRIAL ADVOCACY HALPERN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
TRIALS AT THE PATENT OFFICE EHMKE/MCCOMBS The professor has not yet submitted an assignment.  
TRUSTS AND ESTATES  KELSO Read pages 1-40 in the textbook (Sitkoff and Dukeminier, Wills, Trusts, and Estates (11th ed. 2021), skimming pages 20-30 and 34-40. 
WHITE COLLAR CRIME SHIPCHANDLER The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
WHY LAW FIRMS DO PRO-BONO WORK SCHULMAN The professor has not yet submitted an assignment. 
WILDLIFE LAW BOBOSKY The professor has not yet submitted an assignment.