This course builds on the first-year torts course with an in-depth exploration of torts that address economic harms in the business context—as distinguished from the physical harms that are the primary focus of the first-year course. Though not often taught in law schools, these business torts appear often in contract litigation and can result in awards in the tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars. The business torts address both wrongs between contract parties and between competitors. They therefore define the outer boundaries of permissible competition, sometimes referred to as the “morality of the market.” This fact, and the dollar amounts at stake, make them a highly contested area of law.

This course covers tort liability for fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, tortious interference, bad faith breach, deceptive marketing, commercial disparagement, misappropriation, and violation of trade secrets. Students who take this course will acquire a basic familiarity with those actions and with related doctrines and statutes, as the economic loss rule and the Lanham Act. In addition to black-letter rules, students will gain familiarity with existing areas of legal uncertainty, how courts police the boundary between contract and tort, and theories of the normative foundations of these torts.

Insurance is often invisible until something bad happens. In reality, insurance is a $1.5 trillion per year industry that shifts, pools, and distributes risk across society. Virtually every piece of litigation involves at least one insurance company – and often more. Contracts are designed in the shadow of what insurance does (and doesn’t) cover. This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of basic insurance law concepts, including insurance theory and the significance of insurance in risk management and risk transfer; the business of insurance; the nature of various insurance products; and fundamental principles of insurance policy construction.

The course will begin with an overview and then systematically works through Baker & Logue, Insurance Law and Policy: Cases and Materials and Problems (Fifth Edition, 2008).  There will be additional materials posted on the course webpage. Grading is based on an in-class, open-book final exam, participation and attendance.  Participation and attendance will count for no more than a one-step increase or decrease, but such adjustments will be unusual.  Open book means whatever printed materials you choose to bring with you to the exam – but excludes materials stored electronically and/or on computer media.

This course explores the interwoven dynamics of law, ethics, and science in public health through examination of core legal theory and practice-based examples. With COVID-19 ushering law, policy, and decision-making around public health into broad public awareness, this class will draw upon current issues in society, enabling students to apply legal and ethical concepts to real-world scenarios. By spotlighting recent and historical examples of public health law in action, including COVID-19, opioids, obesity, tobacco, and the environment, this course will be valuable for students interested in health law and equity, as well as students seeking to deepen their expertise in public policy.

Students will learn the conceptual foundations of public health law in the United States, with particular attention to the statutory and regulatory powers and duties of federal and state governmental entities to protect the health and safety of the population and the judicial decisions that shape them. Sources of tension between public health goals and objectives and civil liberties will be interactively contemplated, including, among others: disease surveillance and privacy; labeling and advertising restrictions and free speech; and considerations around individual versus population-based conceptions of health. Discussions of recent major legislative developments and court decisions impacting jurisprudence, public health authority, and individual rights will be incorporated alongside primary themes. Throughout the course, students will engage with public health law through applied learning—case studies and class exercises—focused on analyzing emerging issues, comparing national and global responses, understanding ethical implications, and developing legal and policy strategies that integrate health equity and address social determinants of health. 

This practicum is designed to provide law students with a comprehensive understanding of the NFL Concussion Settlement and the complex legal, medical, and ethical issues it raises. Through a combination of lectures, case analysis, guest speakers, and interactive exercises, students will explore the origins, structure, and implementation of the settlement. In addition to academic learning, students will engage in real-world legal work by developing educational materials for retired NFL players, conducting claimant screening and intake, and assisting eligible players with the process of filing claims. The practicum emphasizes practical skill-building in legal analysis, drafting, client communication, and interdisciplinary problem-solving, while exposing students to the broader implications of mass tort settlements and systemic justice efforts.

SEMINAR: The two-credit seminar portion of the practicum will explore the Settlement, its complexities and the required skills, judgment and ethical considerations arising in the settlement of a complex mass tort. Using the Settlement itself, Special Masters’ decisions, and other Settlement-related readings, along with guest speakers with firsthand experience with the Settlement (including former players), students will explore the history of football and common brain injuries, pathways for claims qualification, the claims process, including preparation, submission, responding to post-submission audits, possible appeals and awards. Throughout the semester, students will grapple with the ethical considerations faced in the Settlement claims process, including examining the practice of race norming, lawyers who failed to meet their obligations to their clients and doctors who failed to meet their obligations to their patients.

PROJECT WORK: Under the supervision of their professors, for 10 hours a week outside of class, students will meet with former players and assist the professors representing them in filing claims under the Settlement. Students will also create a claims portfolio and claims-related educational materials for individuals unable to afford competent legal representation in the Settlement process. Students will meet and interview former players, assist in coordinating medical tests with NFL approved doctors for diagnosis and obtaining the necessary diagnosis report for claims submission. Students also might gather, review, analyze and synthesize documentation in support of claims, and draft supporting correspondence, claims submissions and other related documents to help a former player navigate the claims settlement process.