Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Dante Figueroa

J.D. Seminar 460 (cross-listed) | 3 credit hours

The objective of the Latin American Law Seminar is to provide a broad survey of the Latin American legal environment for J.D. and LL.M. candidates who do not have a civil law background. The course offers an overview of the civil law tradition, the main aspects of European civil law at the time of the independence of the new Latin American nations, Latin American sources of law, codification, constitutional law issues, and civil and criminal procedure. The course also examines the Latin American judiciary and judicial review; the application of international law by domestic courts; and transitional justice. Finally, the seminar presents a comparative perspective of the Latin American and U.S. legal education, licensing, and cultures. This seminar will benefit students seeking to work in different organizations related to Latin America, such as law firms, companies doing business in Latin America, international institutions, U.S. government agencies, non-governmental organizations; academia, and consulting firms. Reading assignments are made available to students in electronic and paper formats. They may vary at the professor’s discretion subject to prior notice to students. Suggested readings are included after the mandatory readings for each session. The assigned materials include a selection of statutes, cases, scholarly articles, and legal reports relevant to each of the issues discussed. No textbook is required for this course.

For students enrolled in the 2 credit section, knowledge of languages other than English is not required. Students enrolled in the WR section must have an adequate knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese in order to read and understand the legal materials in those languages. Students in the WR section will be required to make extensive use of foreign legal resources online. THE WR SECTION WILL BE ENROLLED BY PROFESSOR PERMISSION. Interested students should to submit their resume, contact information, and a statement explaining their Spanish or Portuguese language skills to Professor Figueroa at drfigue@gmail.com by Friday, May 31, at 5:00 p.m. Students will be advised if they have received a seat in the course by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, July 26. Students must register for the 3 credit section of the seminar if they wish to write a paper fulfilling the Upperclass Legal Writing Requirement. The paper requirements of the 2 credit section will not fulfill the Upperclass Legal Writing Requirement.