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California is a leader in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and its innovations have the potential to affect mediation law in state and federal courts across the nation. In this practicum students will work collaboratively to build a new online dispute resolution (ODR) system to be piloted in the San Mateo Superior Court for Family Law. Stanford students will work side by side with faculty, court staff, and experts from Modria Inc. (a leading mediation software designer) to implement the Beta Test of the design. The core of this quarter's work will focus on introducing the platform to its first users - claimants with family law disputes - and designing an evaluation program for collecting feedback and implementing improvements. The project will include opportunities to learn basic coding skills, innovate user experience (UX) design for a tech product, and work directly in family law client services. Most importantly, this project addresses a long-neglected access-to-justice issue in California, where 60-80% of claimants arriving in civil courts cannot afford an attorney. ODR, designed and tested properly, may streamline the system for those who need it most while still offering supervision and quality control of the court staff. Special Instructions: Enrollment in Thinking Like a Policy Analyst ( Law 444) encouraged. Preference given to students who have taken LAW 615 Negotiation, LAW 613 Dispute System Design, LAW 638 Mediation, or demonstrate substantial experience in ADR, or law and technology. Students have the option to write a paper for R credit. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Participation, Attendance, and Contribution to Project. Students may normally receive no more than four units for a Policy Lab practicum and no more than a total of eight units of Policy Lab practicums and Directed Research projects combined may be counted toward graduation unless additional units for graduation are approved in advanced by the Petitions Committee. A student cannot receive a letter grade for more than eight units of independent research (Policy Lab practicum, Directed Research, Senior Thesis, and/or Research Track). Any units taken in excess of eight will be graded on a mandatory pass basis. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and e-mail the Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students) to the instructors. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline.

China dominates and defines a growing global market for solar power. That market faces a stark dichotomy. Solar energy's prospects as a meaningful electricity source are increasingly bright. Yet, amid a global glut of solar panels, the future contours of the industry - the relative roles of leading players such as the United States and China - are increasingly unclear. Students in this seminar will analyze industry and policy data to assess China's competitive strengths in the global solar industry and, based on those conclusions, to suggest finance and policy approaches that the US and China each could adopt so that the two countries operate more strategically in an economically efficient global solar market - and, by extension, a globalizing market for cleaner sources of energy. This research will figure into a project on this theme underway at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance. Course deliverables will vary among students and will be based on discussions at the start of the class between the instructors and the students. Some students will produce papers; others will develop and analyze key sets of data. Students from graduate programs around the university - the law school and others - are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to those with demonstrated interest in energy finance and policy, particularly bearing on China, and with fluency in Mandarin, though neither is a firm requirement. Given that the Steyer-Taylor Center project will continue through the academic year, preference also will be given to students who intend to continue with the practicum in both the winter and spring quarters. Students have the option to write papers for W or R credit. If the paper involves independent research, then it will be eligible for R credit. The instructor and student must agree whether the student will receive an R or a W. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from the W writing section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. NOTE: Students may not count more than a combined total of eight units of directed research projects and policy lab practica toward graduation unless the additional counted units are approved in advance by the Petitions Committee. Such approval will be granted only for good cause shown. Even in the case of a successful petition for additional units, a student cannot receive a letter grade for more than eight units of independent research (Policy Lab practicum, Directed Research, Senior Thesis, and/or Research Track). Any units taken in excess of eight will be graded on a mandatory pass basis. For detailed information, see "Directed Research/Policy Labs" in the SLS Student Handbook. Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Written Assignments or Paper. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and e-mail the Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students) to the instructors. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline.

This policy lab seminar will address the international wildlife trafficking crisis, with a focus on legal and policy tools that can help combat the scourge. The price of ivory on black markets has skyrocketed and elephant and rhino populations in Africa are being decimated. At current poaching rates, African elephants could be wiped out within 8 to 10 years. Trafficking also is hitting tigers, great apes, sharks and other important species. The seminar will key into the President's recent Executive Order on this subject (E.O. 13658, issued on July 1, 2013) and related international efforts to reduce the killing in host countries, the transshipment of poached materials, and consumer demand for ivory and other wildlife parts. The seminar will address US laws and their role in addressing trade in wildlife parts. It also will undertake a comparative review of the legal structures in relevant African and Asian nations, and the potential role of the international endangered species treaty (CITES) and transnational enforcement efforts in cracking down on ivory and other wildlife-related trafficking. The seminar will review prior poaching crises, including the elephant/ivory crisis in the late 1980s, and evaluate why the strategies that reduced killings in the 1990s are no longer successful. Based on these analyses, the class will develop and submit recommendations for reforms to US, African, and international laws and practices to two groups established under the Executive Order: (1) the President's Wildlife Trafficking Task Force, which is chaired by the Secretaries of State and Interior and the Attorney General; and (2) the Wildlife Trafficking Advisory Council, which is composed of outside experts who are advising the Task Force. (Professor Hayes is an appointed member of the Advisory Council.) Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Attendance, Final Paper. Students may normally receive no more than four units for a Policy Lab practicum and no more than a total of eight units of Policy Lab practicums and Directed Research projects combined may be counted toward graduation unless additional units for graduation are approved in advanced by the Petitions Committee. A student cannot receive a letter grade for more than eight units of independent research (Policy Lab practicum, Directed Research, Senior Thesis, and/or Research Track). Any units taken in excess of eight will be graded on a mandatory pass basis. Consent Application: To apply for this course, students must complete and e-mail the Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students) to the instructors. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline.

Libya's government has experienced significant strains stemming from various interest groups and armed militias calling for federalism. The General National Congress, elected in 2012, is mandated to form a government, promulgate legislation for Libya's transitional period, and establish a constitution-drafting entity. A de facto federal structure has emerged since the fall of the Qaddafi regime, and it appears that a federal state structure is the only way forward for Libya. Even a decentralized framework may be threatened, however, if it does not clearly delineate the powers of the executive heads of provincial territories. Students in this Practicum will work to support the Public Interest Law and Policy Group PILPG), a pro bono international law firm, which in turn is providing advice to civil society groups in Libya. To assist PILPG in supporting its clients' engagement on constitutional issues and decentralization, students in this Practicum will develop a legal memorandum analyzing comparative state practice of the distribution of powers between the national executive and provincial level executives in federal or decentralized states. The memorandum will address approaches states have taken on key issues such as whether the national executive can remove the heads of provincial governments; whether the provincial executive has a role in national-level policies; whether provincial executives maintain any control over the military; and whether the provincial executives' powers can supersede the national executive's powers on certain regional issues. State practice from the Middle East and North Africa region will be of particular relevance to PILPG's Libyan clients, but state practice examples will ultimately be selected based on their value in explaining or illustrating mechanisms and processes that shed light on the efficacy of different approaches to distributing powers between national and provincial executives. Students may normally receive no more than four units for a Policy Lab practicum and no more than a total of eight units of Policy Lab practicums and Directed Research projects combined may be counted toward graduation unless additional units for graduation are approved in advanced by the Petitions Committee. A student cannot receive a letter grade for more than eight units of independent research (Policy Lab practicum, Directed Research, Senior Thesis, and/or Research Track). Any units taken in excess of eight will be graded on a mandatory pass basis. Consent Application: To apply for this course, students must complete and e-mail the Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students) to the instructors. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline. Elements used in grading: Class participation, Written Assignments.

This policy lab will focus on recommendations for the reform and modernization of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) -- the granddaddy of our environmental laws. NEPA is a disclosure statute which requires that before federal officials can issue a permit, commit federal funds, or otherwise take an action that may have a significant impact on the environment, decision-makers must have the opportunity to review an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that analyzes the potential environmental consequences of the proposed action and its alternatives. Many critics from both the right and left are dissatisfied with the way that NEPA and its state analogues are being implemented, prompting some legislators to advocate statutory overrides and agency officials to expand the use of categorical exemptions. Meanwhile, NEPA proponents are interested in making the environmental review process more user-friendly and efficient, while preserving its core disclosure requirements. In this policy lab, students will review, analyze, and develop positions on potential NEPA reform options. Students will interact with NEPA experts at the White House¿s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and produce work product that CEQ can use as it responds to Congressional and outside pressure to reform the NEPA process. Students may normally receive no more than four units for a Policy Lab practicum and no more than a total of eight units of Policy Lab practicums and Directed Research projects combined may be counted toward graduation unless additional units for graduation are approved in advanced by the Petitions Committee. A student cannot receive a letter grade for more than eight units of independent research (Policy Lab practicum, Directed Research, Senior Thesis, and/or Research Track). Any units taken in excess of eight will be graded on a mandatory pass basis. Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Attendance, Final Paper. Consent Application: To apply for this course, students must complete and e-mail the Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students) to the instructors. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline.

This policy lab seminar will address the ongoing effort by the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce carbon pollution from electric power plants. The EPA is currently in the process of writing New Source Performance Standards for new and existing coal and natural gas fired electric power plants. A critical question in writing these rules will be the extent to which EPA can allow for economically efficient approaches to cutting emissions. States, including California, industry, and environmental groups are all pushing EPA to incorporate some sort of emissions pricing as either a safe harbor or to propose it as a Federal Implementation Plan that States may choose to join. By doing so, not only will costs fall for regulated sectors but also, deeper cuts in emissions may become feasible. Almost all parties expect, based on prior precedent, that such a proposal will take the form of a cap-and-trade or at least some sort of mass-based cap on emissions. Adele Morris, the Policy Director for the Climate and Energy Economics Project at the Brookings Institution, has asked for our assistance in formulating and assessing the legal implications of an alternative proposal - a carbon tax. Students will prepare briefings and written comments to EPA and OMB explaining the potential benefits of a carbon tax approach to New Source Performance Standards as well as exploring the legal risks that might be created by this approach. We anticipate that students will also participate in briefings with key OMB and EPA Air and Radiation staff involved in drafting the proposed rule. The New Source Performance Standard rulemaking for greenhouse gases is the most environmentally and economically significant regulatory effort that EPA will undertake this decade. Partnering with Brookings will allow us to both leverage legal and economic expertise and to inject students into the most exciting environmental policy making currently underway in the United States. Doing so now, before the draft rule is published, allows us to exert maximum influence before the agency loses flexibility to respond to outside input. To develop skills relevant to the work of practicing lawyers, students will research and write parts of memos and written comments to EPA and OMB on behalf of Morris based on their research into various legal and policy aspects of Clean Air Act Section 111 as applied to the problem of power plant emissions. These assignments, for Writing (W) or Professional Writing (PW), or Research (R) credit, will be due before the end of the quarter. Students must obtain the instructor¿s approval of their election to take the course for writing (PW or W) or research (R) credit. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Students may normally receive no more than four units for a Policy Lab practicum and no more than a total of eight units of Policy Lab practicums and Directed Research projects combined may be counted toward graduation unless additional units for graduation are approved in advanced by the Petitions Committee. A student cannot receive a letter grade for more than eight units of independent research (Policy Lab practicum, Directed Research, Senior Thesis, and/or Research Track). Any units taken in excess of eight will be graded on a mandatory pass basis. Consent Application: To apply for this course, students must complete and e-mail the Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students) to the instructors. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline.

In this practicum, students will contribute to analyses of the current state of human rights in the Americas and, in particular, to analyses of areas of focus for the Inter-American Commission (the "Commission"). Students will become familiar with international and regional standards in human rights and with the procedures, history and practice of the Commission and will contribute, through their policy analysis, to the work of the Commission. Working independently and/or in teams, students will prepare studies on situations of rights abuse, as well as on best practices across the region. The scope of students' work product will expand as they acquire more expertise with international standards and transnational comparative tools in policy analysis. Fluency in Spanish or Portuguese helpful, but not required. One or more students may travel in conjunction with this practicum to sessions of the Inter-American Commission in October/November 2014. This course will be offered in the Fall of 2014. While priority will be given to students who enrolled in the course in the Spring of 2014, all students are encouraged to apply. Special Instructions: Students must enroll with a minimum of 3 units, but are encouraged to enroll in 4 units. This class meets the PW requirement. NOTE: Students may not count more than a combined total of eight units of directed research projects and policy lab practica toward graduation unless the additional counted units are approved in advance by the Petitions Committee. Such approval will be granted only for good cause shown. Even in the case of a successful petition for additional units, a student cannot receive a letter grade for more than eight units of independent research (Policy Lab practicum, Directed Research, Senior Thesis, and/or Research Track). Any units taken in excess of eight will be graded on a mandatory pass basis. For detailed information, see "Directed Research/Policy Labs" in the SLS Student Handbook. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and e-mail the Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students) to the instructors. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline. Students who have taken the practicum in the Spring of 2014 have consent to take this course in the Fall of 2014 and need not file a Consent Application. Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Attendance, Written Assignments.

Earlier this year, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet rules. This policy practicum will help policy makers assess the available options in the wake of the court's decision. In December 2010, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the Open Internet Order, which enacted binding network neutrality rules for the first time. Network neutrality rules limit the ability of Internet service providers to interfere with the applications, content and services on their networks; they allow users to decide how they want to use the Internet without interference from Internet service providers. In January of this year, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down the core provisions of the Open Internet Order - the rules against blocking and discrimination. The decision combined two wins for the FCC with one decisive loss. According to the Court, the FCC has authority to regulate providers of broadband Internet access service under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and the FCC's justification for the Open Internet Order is "reasonable and supported by substantial evidence." The no-blocking and non-discrimination rules, the Court found, however, violate the Communications Act's ban on imposing common carrier obligations on entities like Internet service providers that the FCC has not classified as telecommunications service providers under Title II of the Communications Act. As a result of this ruling, Internet service providers like Verizon, AT&T or Cox Cable that connect users to the Internet are now free to block any content, service or application they want. They can slow down selected applications, speed up others, or ask application or content providers like Netflix or Spotify to pay fees to reach their users. These practices would fundamentally change how we experience the Internet. In the wake of the Court's decision, policy makers, stakeholders and observers are debating how to best ensure that the Internet remains open and free. Policy makers essentially have three options: First, the FCC can preserve the Open Internet Rules by reclassifying Internet service as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. Second, it can develop a different, narrower network neutrality regime under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act within the boundaries established by the Court of Appeal's decision. Finally, Congress or the FCC can adopt a new network neutrality regime, but only, in the case of the FCC, after reclassifying Internet service as a telecommunications service. In mid-February, the Federal Communications Commission opened a docket within which to consider how the Commission should proceed. Special Instructions: Upon consent of the instructor, students may choose enrollment Option 1 or Option 2: Option 1 (3 units) - Students who elect Option 1 will research and write parts of white papers and comments to the Federal Communications Commission that will help policy makers assess the available options. In special cases, students electing Option 1 may take the policy practicum for 2 units. Students interested in this option should indicate this on their application. Option 2 (1 to 2 units) - In order to elect Option 2, students must concurrently enroll (with consent of instructor) in the seminar component, "Current Issues in Network Neutrality" (2 units), which meets Thursdays from 4:15pm-6:15pm. Students in the policy practicum with the seminar component will research and write parts of white papers and comments to the Federal Communications Commission that will help policy makers assess the available options Students will be required to attend the seminar and participate in the discussion, but will not do any of the written assignments for the seminar. Depending on the type of work in Option 1 or Option 2, students taking the policy practicum for two-units or more may receive professional writing (PW) or research (R) credit. Students must obtain the instructor's approval of their election to take the course for writing (PW or W) or research (R) credit. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from the W/PW writing section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. The class is open to law students and students from other parts of the university. It does not require any technical background. Consent Application: To apply for this course, students must complete and e-mail the Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students) to the instructors. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline.

This is the practicum component of the Law and Economics of the Death Penalty Seminar. See Law and Economics of the Death Penalty Seminar ( Law 397) for a detailed course description. Students who take the practicum component must attend the 9 seminar class meetings and do all reading and writing assignments of the seminar except that instead of writing a final paper of their choosing they will focus on actual policy or litigation work that will be arranged with various death penalty abolition groups. Only students enrolled in the Law and Economics of the Death Penalty Seminar (whether for two or three units) may enroll in the practicum component for two additional units. NOTE: Students may not count more than a combined total of eight units of directed research projects and policy lab practica toward graduation unless the additional counted units are approved in advance by the Petitions Committee. Such approval will be granted only for good cause shown. Even in the case of a successful petition for additional units, a student cannot receive a letter grade for more than eight units of independent research (Policy Lab practicum, Directed Research, Senior Thesis, and/or Research Track). Any units taken in excess of eight will be graded on a mandatory pass basis. For detailed information, see "Directed Research/Policy Labs" in the SLS Student Handbook. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and e-mail the Consent Application Form available on the SLS Registrar's Office website (see Registration and Selection of Classes for Stanford Law Students) to the instructors. See Consent Application Form for submission deadline.