Comparative family law, law and dignity, and trade secrets will be among the topics discussed in courses offered at the University of Virginia School of Law in 2023. The following three courses for the January term and five courses for the spring semester aim to give students different perspectives on the law.
January Term
Students will examine the legal and economic framework in which medical care is provided in the United States in Health Care Marketplace: Competition, Regulation and Reform. The course is taught by W. Thomas McGough Jr., the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s chief legal officer, and Professor Margaret Foster Riley, who teaches food and drug law, health law, animal law, bioethics, regulation of clinical research and public health law. Riley directs the Animal Law Program.
International and Comparative Family Law, a new course taught by Professor Naomi Cahn and Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Sharon Shakargy, will cover the role of the state and religion in marriage, divorce, child custody, relocation and abduction, support and adoption, as well as surrogacy and other forms of assisted reproduction. The course will unpack the legal issues in the Ian McEwan novel and subsequent film “The Children Act.” Cahn co-directs the school’s Family Law Center and is an expert in family law, trusts and estates, feminist jurisprudence, reproductive technology, and aging and the law. Shakargy specializes in in private international and interreligious law (conflict of laws), family law and comparative law.
A new course taught by Professor Pierre-Hugues Verdier — War by Other Means: The Law of Economic and Financial Sanctions — will introduce students to domestic and international legal issues arising from economic and financial sanctions, with an emphasis on sanctions imposed by the United States and its partners outside the U.N. multilateral process. Verdier specializes in public international law, banking and financial regulation, and international economic relations, and directs the Graduate Studies Program.
Spring Term
Dignity Law, a new course taught by Professor Rachel Bayefsky, will emphasize dignity’s function within real-world legal doctrine and practice — from antidiscrimination law to administrative cost-benefit analysis and beyond — while also considering theoretical frameworks surrounding dignity. Bayefsky writes about constitutional law, federal courts, civil procedure and legal theory.
Taught by Vice Dean Michael Gilbert, Law of Corruption will examine how the topic of corruption is addressed in several different legal domains and explore how best to define and understand corruption. Gilbert teaches courses on election law, legislation, and law and economics, and is co-author of the new textbook “Public Law and Economics.”
Monetary Constitution Seminar, taught by Professors Edmund Kitch and Julia Mahoney, will introduce students to the history and law of the financial infrastructure of the federal government, including the national debt, the budget process, taxation, central banking and economic growth. Kitch’s scholarly and teaching interests include agency, corporations, securities, antitrust, industrial and intellectual property, economic regulation, and legal and economic history. Mahoney teaches courses in property, government finance, constitutional law and nonprofit organizations.
Race, Education and Opportunity, taught by Professor Kimberly Jenkins Robinson, examines the influence of race on U.S. society through the lens of its influence on educational opportunities and outcomes. The class will also explore the intersection of race and poverty in education. Robinson speaks throughout the United States about K-20 educational equity, school funding, education and democracy, equal opportunity, civil rights, Title IX and federalism.
A new course taught by Professor Elizabeth Rowe, Trade Secret Law addresses the law and theory applicable to the protection of confidential and proprietary business information ranging from formulas to customer lists. Rowe is an internationally renowned expert on trade secret law, intellectual property, trademark and patent law, and corporate espionage.
Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.
