New Upper-Division Courses Available to Add

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605LEC Conflict of Laws, Prof. Edwin Coleman, MW 10:30AM-12:00PM

Callie from California and Max from Massachusetts get into a car accident with each other in the parking lot of Disney World (Florida). Max returns home to Massachusetts and sues Callie and Disney World in Massachusetts state court. Does the Massachusetts court have jurisdiction over Callie and/or Disney World? If so, what law would a Massachusetts court apply to the dispute? Massachusetts law? California law? Florida law? If Max obtains judgment against Callie and Disney World, are these judgments enforceable in California and Florida? Let’s say that Callie moves to France and obtains a declaratory judgment there that she is not liable to Max for the car accident. Would this French judgment be recognized by a Massachusetts court to preclude Max’s lawsuit against Callie? These are the questions to be explored in this Conflict of Laws course. The course will focus on three broad questions:
1. Jurisdiction: When does a court have jurisdiction over a dispute?
2. Choice of Law: What law will a court apply to a dispute?
3. Enforcement of Judgments: When will a judgment from a foreign court (state or foreign country) be recognized and/or enforced?
The approach I take is a mix between academic and practical. The ultimate goal is to have you not only understand the doctrines that comprise the conflict of laws, but be able to apply and manipulate them to achieve a desired result.

873SEM Contemporary Dynamics of Employment, Prof. Edwin Coleman, M 3:00PM-6:00PM

Technologically driven forms of work have sparked a wave of regulatory challenges in many jurisdictions, including the United States. These regulatory challenges have led some academics and experts to raise concerns regarding the need to utilize employment and labor laws to protect participants of technologically driven forms of work. On the contrary, others have cautioned states not to unduly interfere with regulation in contemporary labor market, as such interference will inhibit innovation and creativity in this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). With the proliferation of new forms of work, the nature, dynamics, and structure of labor markets are increasingly changing. Employment practices and work have also dramatically changed over the last two decades. Suffice it to say, questions remain whether existing labor norms/laws are sufficient and fit for purpose to address the increasingly complex changing dynamics of employment law. This course addresses broad topics on how technologically driven forms of employment in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution have impacted employment practices and structures. Topics to be covered in this course will include: (1) The impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in the world of work, (2) Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the workplace, (3) employees right of speech in a digital age, (4) Exploring the contours of employment relationship in the era of flexible and non-standard forms of employment, (5) Gig/platform work and the labyrinth of statutory regulation, (6) Collective representation and bargaining in the era of gig work, among others.