Law Commons^™

Super-Liens To The Rescue? A Case Against Special Districts In Real Estate Finance, Christopher K. Odinet

Faculty Scholarship

In a time of limited resources and sluggish economic growth, competition between cities has become palpable, and the race for new investment often dictates the public agenda. To that end, the explosive growth of public-private partnerships between local governments and private investors has resulted in the creation of a myriad of special taxing districts, the purposes of which are limited only by the imagination. Of particular concern has been the growth of certain real estate development-related districts. Although first conceived to fund critical improvements where conventional credit was not available, in more recently years these special districts have been used …

Price Gouging: A Gray Area, Mathis Mateus

Common Reading Essay Contest Winners

Second Place

Essay Prompt: In Justice, Sandel discusses a number of contemporary political issues (e.g. price gouging during the 2004 Hurricane, the 2008-9 financial meltdown, the volunteer army, pregnancy surrogates, executive pay, slavery reparations, immigration, and gay marriage). Take a position on one of the issues discussed in the book and make the best case that you can for why this position is the most just. You may include evidence from the book, your prior studies, your own experience, and/or outside research. (Outside research is not required.)

The Fine Print, Ramona L. Lampley

Faculty Articles

A recent study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), the federal agency tasked with “empowering consumers to take control over their economic lives,” found that more than 50 percent of the market for consumer credit cards had arbitration agreements, and almost 100 percent of storefront payday lending contracts require its customers to take their disputes to binding arbitration. The same study found that most consumers do not know their credit cards have a binding arbitration agreement and that it is not a primary concern for consumers in deciding which credit cards to obtain.

However, almost all arbitration agreements in …

'Experiential Education Through The Vis Moot' And 'Building On The Bergsten Legacy: The Vis Moot As A Platform For Legal Education', Ronald A. Brand

Articles

Recent discussions of experiential education have at times considered the role of moot opportunities in legal education. Many, if not most, moot courts and related activities have been designed primarily as competitions. One moot, the Willem Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, is different in that it was designed, and has been consistently administered, as a tool for educating future lawyers. That education has included both skills training of the highest order and the development of a doctrinal understanding of important international legal instruments, especially those created and administered by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). This pair …

Patent Stewardship, Choice Of Law, And Weighing Competing Interests, David O. Taylor

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Xuan-Thao Nguyen’s recent article, "In the Name of Patent Stewardship: The Federal Circuit’s Overreach into Commercial Law", is important for at least two potential reasons that Nguyen herself highlights. First, to the extent that the Federal Circuit’s decisions related to commercial law differ from state courts’ decisions related to commercial law, it might call into question the Federal Circuit’s competency with respect to commercial law. And, second, it certainly highlights something that practitioners might need to know to adapt their advice and strategies for reaching their clients’ desired ends. But Nguyen’s critique is important for a third reason. Assuming the …

Law And Development In West And Central Africa (Ohada), Peter Winship

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This seminar paper considers whether OHADA - an experiment in unifying business law in African countries - has been a success. Following a prologue that explains the origins of the paper, the first part of the paper sets out basic information about the Organisation pour l’Harmonisation du Droit des Affaires en Afrique (“Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa,” known by the acronym OHADA). This part is followed by a review of law and development literature to assess the value of this literature for an evaluation of the success (or not) of OHADA. A third part then focuses …