801 - 810 of 873 results for: LAW

The field of "law and economics" provides important lessons for how legal institutions should be designed, but many of those lessons rely on the assumption that individuals behave in a way that maximizes their self-interest. Research from psychology and behavioral economics casts doubt on this assumption in many legal contexts. This seminar will explore a range of topics about human decision-making, focusing on how research in this area should inform the design of policy. Special Instructions: Grades will be based on class attendance, class participation, and either several short reflection papers (section (01)) or an independent research paper (section (02)). 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 taking the course for R credit can take the course for either 2 or 3 units, depending on paper length. Elements used in grading: class participation, class attendance, reflection papers or research paper. Early drop deadline.

In this seminar, we consider key legal topics through the lens of political economy -- that is, is the interplay among economics, law, and politics. This perspective has had a powerful and growing impact on how scholars and judges view the nature and scope of law and politics in the modern regulatory state. We look at a range of topics from this perspective, including: constitutional law, statutory interpretation, administrative law and regulation, and jurisprudence -- all with an eye toward better understanding the dynamic interaction among law, politics, and social change. There are no prerequisites for this seminar. Elements used in grading: The final assignment will be a substantial research paper. Cross-listed with Political Science ( POLISCI 225L/325L).

This course examines the diverse legal and policy mechanisms--"public policy instruments"--used to address complex social problems. Instruments considered include criminal sanctions, administrative regulations, tort litigation, taxation, and public and private insurance and compensation systems. Students will evaluate these instruments across multiple dimensions, including effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, benefit-cost tradeoffs, unintended consequences, political feasibility, legitimacy, and competing conceptions of justice (distributive, procedural, and retributive). Policy instruments will be compared not only to each other, but also to two baseline alternatives: doing nothing (allowing problems to resolve through individual or market action) and relying on private sector solutions. Whereas many SLS courses examine particular instruments in depth, this course emphasizes broader analytic frameworks for comparing policy approaches across domains. Although relevant theories and normative perspectives will be discussed, students will focus on evaluating how these instruments function in practice--whether they achieve their intended goals in specific contexts. While multiple substantive areas will be considered, this year's offering will place particular emphasis on policies regarding psychoactive drugs like cannabis, the synthetic opioids, and psychedelic substances. After the term begins, students enrolled in the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Attendance, class participation, written assignments; final independent research paper (optional with instructor consent).

This a one-unit, Law Mandatory P/R/F course that grows out of the recommendations of the 2018 Faculty and Student Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion. The course is built around a series of outside speakers on identity and prejudice. These speakers will include the sociologist Lawrence Bobo (W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Social Sciences at Harvard) and the psychologist Mahzarin Benaji (Richard Clark Cabot Professor of Social Ethics at Harvard). The lectures will be open to all members of the Stanford community. Students who wish to get course credit will be required to attend the lectures, participate in faculty and student-led discussions and write reflection papers. The course consists of 10 hours of lecture and discussion. The course is formally offered in the Spring Quarter, 2019 and credit for the course will be given at that time. However, the lectures and discussions will take place throughout the school year. The first of the lectures will take place on Wednesday, October 31 at 4 pm. Students unable to attend the lecture on October 31 may still participate in the upcoming lectures to be announced. Students who wish to take the course should sign up now so as to be notified of the time of the lectures and discussion sessions. Students with questions about the course should email Joseph Bankman at jbankman@stanford.edu. Begin in Autumn Quarter and run through Spring Quarter. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline.

Empirical Legal Studies uses data to inform legal and policy debates. Traditional empirical legal scholarship uses methods such as observational studies and experiments to examine the effects of various policies or legal decisions. More recently, advancements in technology have given rise to a new strand of research that uses tools such as machine learning and natural language processing to study legally relevant datasets at a large scale ("Big Data"). This seminar will present a range of topics that highlight current empirical legal scholarship in these areas. A theme of the course will be comparing and contrasting traditional empirical approaches with the techniques emerging from machine learning and big data. During roughly half of the sessions, we will host a guest speaker who will present an ongoing empirical research project. Familiarity with data science or statistics is not required. Special Instructions: You may write a series of short commentaries on the guest speakers' papers, of which there will be four. Students electing this option will be graded on a Mandatory Pass/Restricted Credit/Fail basis and receive 2 units of credit. Alternatively, you may write a single empirical research paper on a legal topic of your choice. This will satisfy the Law School's Research requirement. These papers will be graded on an Honors/Pass/Restricted Credit/Fail basis. Students taking the seminar for R credit can take the seminar for either 2 or 3 units of credit (section 02), depending on the project. 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. There is no formal prerequisite to take this seminar, though students doing the longer research papers typically have some prior training in statistics. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Four commentaries or one research paper.

Many legal and policy debates rest on central claims that are either true or false. Does hiring more police officers reduce crime? Does increasing the minimum wage lead to reduced employment? Do risk assessment tools help judges identify defendants with a high recidivism risk? Most of these questions have been studied extensively, but the findings are often conflicting, making it difficult to identify effective solutions to pressing, societal problems. This course is designed to help students evaluate empirical research findings and to distinguish studies that are credible from those that are less credible. We will spend a significant amount of time understanding the markers of strong research designs and how to communicate findings transparently and effectively. The course focuses exclusively on the concepts underlying (social) scientific research, not their inner machinations. Among others, this means that mathematical / statistical training is neither required nor acquired during the course. Everything we will cover will be based on plain language and intuitive, visual aids like figures and charts. Still, those with extensive technical training will sometimes have spent significant time thinking through difficult concepts like causality. To avoid the impact of potential discrepancies in student preparedness, the course is graded as a mandatory pass-fail course. Elements used in grading: Attendance, class participation, written assignments.

A broad multidisciplinary examination of the use and impacts of data, including fundamental principles and algorithms, tools for data analysis, visualization, and machine learning, policy issues, and societal considerations. Specific topics include: data provenance (where data comes from and how it's processed), the role and value of data in analytics and decision-making, data and algorithmic fairness, data privacy, the concentration of data as power, and issues of data governance and regulation, including transparency and due process. In addition to case studies, conceptual frameworks, theoretical underpinnings, and algorithms, the course provides practical experience through hands-on work where students use tools to explore issues from class on real data. Elements used in grading: Final Exam and TBA. Cross-listed with Computer Science ( CS 125).

You want to do important, meaningful, and impactful work. You've got the legal skills and the intellectual firepower, but leaders in law and business are looking for more than that from their trusted advisors. They want attorneys who not only excel at issue spotting, but also strategic problem solving, communication and the ability to deal with ambiguity and complexity. Research demonstrates that these skills can be learned and strengthened. Using neuroscience techniques to optimize adult learning, students will develop skills in strategic decision making, influence techniques, motivating others to work toward shared goals and adapting communication styles for clients and colleagues. This is a hands-on class, with a focus on classroom exercises and short reflection papers, designed to help students use their past and current experiences to identify areas for development and create new habits for success. Special Instructions: Students on the waitlist for the course will be admitted if spots are available on the basis of priority and degree program. Elements used in grading: Class participation and attendance, course exercises and written assignments. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete a Consent Application Form available at SLS Registrar https://registrar.law.stanford.edu/.

This course covers basic accounting principles. Please note that this class differs from a typical introductory accounting class as it is more law-based. Class time will be allocated to a combination of short lectures, group work, and discussions of the assigned readings. Evaluation will be based on problem sets assigned throughout the quarter. This class is suitable for students who plan to work in transactional law or in litigation. Elements used in grading: Written Assignments.