M.L.S. Courses Descriptions

LSH 5902 - Introduction to the American Legal System

2 Credit Hours

Examines the United States court system, the role of the Constitution, and other foundations in US law and their relation to the healthcare system. Introduces students to fundamental principles in US law. Explains how law functions with our society and how it plays a role in conflict resolution, civil liberties, equality, in contracts, and interacts with the U.S. healthcare system.

 

LSH 6102 - Structure of Health Care Enterprises: Legal Forms, Governance, and Relationships

2 Credit Hours

The course will cover the different legal forms a healthcare enterprise can take, including; Non-profits, physician owned, government owned, and Hospital systems. This course will also familiarize students with the contents and role of organizational documents, Governance issues, fiduciary duties, issues for tax exempt organizations, and relationships between Physicians and tax-exempt entities

 

LSH 6112 - Sources and Types of Liability of Healthcare Institutions and Professionals

2 Credit Hours

Will discuss how the healthcare providers and institutions can be held liable as well as the consequences of agency and contractor status. In addition, this course will cover the elements of negligence in cases involving healthcare professionals.

 

LSH 6123 - Regulation of Private Health Insurance, Managed Care

3 Credit Hours

Details the regulation of health insurance companies with a focus on changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA is federal legislation, with implementation reliant on the states. Will address how the regulatory system will adapt to the federal health care scheme. Students will become familiar with managed care contracts and analyze health care plans and policies.

 

LSH 6132 - Quality Control: Licensing, Accreditation, and Quality Regulation

2 Credit Hours

Designed to introduce students to the laws, agencies, and other bodies that license, regulate and discipline physicians. Topics covered will include licensing proceedings and hearings and health care entity policies addressing these issues.

 

LSH 6142 - Professional Relationships in Health Care Enterprises

2 Credit Hours

Covers professional relationships between and among healthcare enterprises and the differences and between direct employment and independent practitioners with privileges when looking at; credentialing, disciplinary issues, and the Healthcare Quality Improvement Act.

 

LSH 6152 - HIPAA/Patient Privacy

2 Credit Hours

Explores the federal regulatory scheme designed to protect the privacy and security of health information. Topics covered include; Entities and information to which the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 HIPAA) applies, HIPAA compliance and enforcement, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

 

LSH 6153 - Overview of Public Health Care Programs

3 Credit Hours

Will cover public health insurance (including Medicare, Medicaid, government hospitals, and other government-financed health programs). In addition, this course will cover what treatment is required of anyone coming into an Emergency department by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

 

LSH 6162 - Health Information Management

2 Credit Hours

Will cover health information law and policy as it pertains to data security and privacy of electronic health records in the United States. Students will examine how individual health information is collected, maintained, and transferred in this electronic information age, and the ramifications when such information is improperly protected, stolen, and misused.

 

LSH 6172 - Health Care Transactions and Contracts

2 Credit Hours

This course covers the business, regulatory, and legal issues that arise in healthcare business transactions: asset sales, mergers, joint ventures, procurement contracts, and the application of tax laws to transactions. In addition, this course will cover the fundamental principles of contract law and the role of valuations in healthcare transactions.

 

LSH 6173 - Fraud and Abuse Claims

3 Credit Hours

Will cover federal physician self-referral law, fraud and abuse law. Students will learn the statutes, regulations, and advisory opinions that define the parameters of physician referrals and anti-kickback laws, analyzing case studies for those issues. Students will familiarize themselves with the False Claims Act and other laws, regulations, and government regulatory actions designed to combat false claims and fraudulent activities.

 

LSH 6182 - Coding and Billing

2 Credit Hours

Provides students with working knowledge of the business side of medicine: medical record documentation, coding and billing. This course will provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the legal role of the medical record, specifically in the context of obligations for the organization of the medical record and its support for reimbursement of services.

 

LSH 6183 - Experiencing a Simulated Investigation

3 Credit Hours

Prepares students for experiencing an investigation including how to prepare for potential investigation and how to respond to and cooperate with an investigation. A portion of the course will involve live simulation exercises.

 

LSH 6192 - Anti-Trust Issues in Healthcare Delivery

2 Credit Hours

Focuses on antitrust issues relevant to health care providers: hospital and physician mergers, virtual mergers and joint ventures; exclusive contracts and other medical staff exclusion issues; covenants not to compete; managed care plans; antitrust defenses such as state action, nonprofit, learned profession, efficiencies, failing business, etc.; and federal and state healthcare antitrust regulatory efforts, including healthcare collaborative guidelines.

LSIB 5012 - Introduction to Legal Studies

2 credit hours

This course is a general introduction to the nature and structure of national, international, and transnational legal systems.  It introduces the students to the common law and civil law legal systems as well as the international and transnational organizations and structures of international and transnational business law such as the European Union, NAFTA, the WTO, UNCITRAL.

 

LSIB 5002 - Sources of International Law

2 credit hours

This course teaches students the core skills of finding and using various sources of international and transnational business law including bilateral and multinational treaties, uniform international rules and principles, decisions of international and transnational adjudicatory organizations, and European Union directives and decisions.  

 

LSIB 5113 - Comparative Corporate Law, 5113

3 credits hours

The course initiates students into the differences between corporate law in civil law countries and corporate law in the Anglo-American world. Students gain an understanding of the different policy challenges legislators are facing stemming mainly from the size of the firms, their ownership structure and the position of labor within business organizations. The effects of regulatory competition in the field of corporate law inside the EU and inside the US are also analyzed enabling students to understand the extent to which legal convergence has been spurred by such competition.  Major aspects of corporate law that will be compared include: the corporate formation process, capital requirements and distributions, duties and liabilities of management, the powers of the general meeting vis-à-vis the powers of the management bodies (including principles of decision-making), minority shareholders’ protection, creditor protection (with emphasis on the concept of piercing the corporate veil), and labor rights.

 

LSIB 6122- International Finance: Banking and Structured Finance

2 credit hours

The international regulation of the market for bank financing.  Principles of capital adequacy, safety and soundness, and systemic risk will be introduced.  The process of syndication and global structured finance will also be explored. Finally, the course will introduce the topic of anti-money laundering regulation. 

 

LSIB 5123 - European Union Business and Competition Law

3 credit hours

This course provides an introduction to the subject of European Law.  Students will learn the unique structure of the EU and the Common Market including how directives are made and implemented. The course will then focus on a few specific areas of law including: free movement of goods, employment, taxation, and competition law.

 

LSIB 5122 - Combating International Corruption

2 credit hours

This course introduces the students to the principles of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions other transparency initiatives.  Any business with an overseas presence needs to be familiar with this regulatory structure.  The course is practically focused on the need for compliance planning and transaction screening and reporting to prevent violating the FCPA provisions. 

 

LSIB 5132 - International Sanctions Regimes

2 credit hours

This course provides an overview of the international sanctions regimes.  It explores the processes by which UN, other multilateral, and unilateral sanctions are imposed and how sanctions impact the way business is conducted.  A few country specific sanctions provisions will be explored. 

 

LSIB 6112 - International Finance: Capital Markets

2 credit hours

This course examines the laws and institutions governing global capital markets, primarily global equity and Eurobonds.  The course will examine the applicability of US Securities regulation abroad (both in relation to non-US companies raising capital in the US and US companies raising capital abroad).  The major markets and exchanges will be examined including London, Europe, and Hong Kong. The course will also examine attempts at and challenges to international harmonization.  In addition to primary capital market transactions, the course will also consider cross boarder public merger and takeover regulations and practices.

 

LSIB 5143 - International Commercial and Investment Arbitration

3 credit hours

 This course on international commercial and investment arbitration examines international arbitration as a system of private justice, focusing on the five building blocks of international arbitration – the agreement to arbitrate, arbitral rules of procedure, international conventions on the enforcement of arbitration agreements and awards, national arbitration laws, and relevant decisions of national courts – and comparing arbitration with other forms of dispute resolution. The course explores in detail the 12 stages of international commercial arbitration, eliminating the mystery surrounding the arbitration process and includes a discussion of legal writing for advocates in international arbitration, document disclosure under the IBA Rules, legal and cultural differences in advocacy styles and expectations, frequently made mistakes by advocates in international arbitration, and how to build an international arbitration practice. The course also includes an investment arbitration component, which discusses arbitrations between investors and nation states. This component includes a discussion of sovereign immunity, bilateral investment treaties, and enforcement of arbitral awards against a sovereign.

 

LSIB 6113 - International Trade and Investment

3 credit hours

The regulation of trans-border trade will be examined on a global level.  The course will explore the laws and institutions which regulate the flow of international trade and foreign investment.  The major institutions covered will include the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Asian regional institutions. 

 

LSIB 5112 - International Payment Systems

2 credit hours

Students will examine some of the key international payment systems: Letters of Credit, wire transfers, international netting, and the SWIFT system.  The main themes will include risks associated with fraudulent transactions and the allocation of credit risk throughout the payment systems.  

 

LSIB 5153 - International Business, Human Rights, and Corporate Social Responsibility

3 credit hours

An emerging issue in international business has involved the appropriate role and responsibilities of multinational corporations with respect to human rights. We will examine the United Nations (UN) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines for business and human rights as well as the UN’s decision to draft a treaty on this topic as well as national regulations on this topic and potential litigation risks.

 

LSIB 5133 - International Sales and other Business Transactions

3 credit hours

This course will focus on the legal aspects of commercial activity that takes place in two or more countries. It will examine the sale of goods and services across national boundaries, licensing of intellectual property, foreign investment, and the core principles of international taxation and antitrust law.

LSI 5101 - Introduction to Legal Research

1 Credit Hour

Provides students with an understanding of the most efficient and cost-effective tools and methods for researching U.S. and tribal law. It includes lecture sessions, hands-on research training, and practical exercises across a range of subject areas for both print and electronic sources.

 

LSI 5603 - Native American Natural Resources

3 Credit Hours

Provides an overview of the history of U.S. native policy and the basic doctrines of Indian law, then covers a variety of issues relating to tribal interests in and jurisdiction over environmental resources. Topics includes tribal rights to land; land use and environmental protection in Indian country; economic and natural resource development issues (including grazing, minerals, timber, and taxation); hunting and fishing rights; as well as international perspectives on indigenous resources. Throughout the course, students will consider the roles of the tribal, federal, and state governments in resource regulation and use.

 

LSI 5613 - Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country

3 Credit Hours

Traces the development of the rules governing the exercise of criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country by three sovereigns: federal government, state government, and tribal government. Materials examined include historical treaties, major federal statutes, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Students should finish the course with the ability to understand, analyze and contribute meaningfully to discussions regarding criminal jurisdiction problems in Indian Country.

 

LSI 5622 - History of Federal Indian Law and Policy I

2 Credit Hours

Traces the development of British colonial and United States policy towards indigenous peoples in North America from the Seventeenth Century through the major policy initiatives of the Nineteenth Century.

 

LSI 5632 - History of Federal Indian Law and Policy II

2 Credit Hours

Traces the development of British colonial and United States policy towards indigenous peoples in North America from the major policy initiatives of the Nineteenth Century to the present day.

 

LSI 5623 - Religion, Culture, and Indian Law

3 Credit Hours

Examines the roles of law and policy on Native American religious and cultural practice. Explores issues relating to tribal interests and jurisdiction over Native religion and culture, including information concerning preservation, restoration, and destruction of sacred sites and indigenous remains, the laws and practices pertaining to species protection and sacred species, institutionalized persons, as well as entheogens, protection of cultural and intellectual resources. International law as related to indigenous religions and culture is also explored.

 

LSI 5643 - International Indigenous Peoples Law

3 Credit Hours

Explores the development of international law rules relating to the rights of indigenous peoples from the early 20th Century through the present, focusing on modern international institutions and instruments including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

LSI 5653 - Civil Regulatory Jurisdiction in Indian Country

3 Credit Hours

Examines the most common area of jurisdictional claims in Indian Country: civil jurisdiction. The course covers tribal recognition, the scope of Indian Country, and tribal sovereignty. The course then focuses on State-Tribal struggles over jurisdiction, followed by an examination of recent Supreme Court diminishment of tribal authority, particularly over nonmembers. Finally, environmental regulation and the tribal role within the system of cooperative federalism will be covered.

 

LSI 5663 - Federal Indian Water Law

3 Credit Hours

Explores the context, decisional and statutory law, and overarching polices that shape water law. Examines foundations in both federal Indian law and basic principles of water law, including relevant substantive and procedural law, and mechanics and social issues relating to water resource management. Also, explores state and federal powers and roles in relation to American Indian tribes and water resources; intergovernmental/ intercommunity conflict, as well as methods of management and resolution.

 

LSI 5673 - Indian Gaming Laws & Regulations

3 Credit Hours

Examines litigation and history of tribal gaming, along with critical decisions rulings on tribal/state compacting and scope of gaming conflicts. Explores tribal compacting experiences around the country with focus on Oklahoma tribes and the Oklahoma Model Gaming Compact of 2004. Distinguishes the regulatory roles of tribes, states and the feds and explores differences in Class II and Class III gaming, regulations and disputes. Explains creative approaches to financing and development of tribal gaming facilities.

 

LSI 5693 - The Indian Child Welfare Act & Family Law in Indian Country

3 Credit Hours

The Indian Child Welfare Act, passed by Congress in 1978, remains a controversial law that grants tribes and the parents of Indian children special rights within state court systems. The requirements of the law raise significant issues for trial courts, and often serve as the flashpoint of tribal/state disputes. In order to understand the conflicts raised by the ICWA, the student must understand both the clash of sovereigns and the state laws involving children. Students will learn the basic requirements of the ICWA and the varying ways states have interpreted those requirements.

 

LSI 5723 - Tribal Courts in Indian Country

3 Credit Hours

This course examines the relationship between Tribal Nations and the three main sovereigns: Federal government, state governments, and tribal governments. Students will understand, analyze and discuss the importance of tribal court to tribal sovereignty, the tribal people, and to specific tribal cultures.

 

LSI 5911 - Introduction to the American Legal System

1 Credit Hour

Examines the United States court system, the role of the Constitution in the United States legal system, and other foundation materials in United States law. The goal is to introduce students to distinctive aspects and/or fundamental principles in U.S. law. This course explains how law functions with various aspects of our society and how it plays an increasingly significant role in conflict resolution, civil liberties and equality, and in contracts and property agreements.

 

LSI 5981 - Indigenous Peoples Law Capstone

1 Credit Hour

Prerequisite: completion of 25 hours of required courses from the Master of Legal Studies Indigenous Peoples Law Program. A guided research course requiring completion of a project demonstrating mastery of a specific topic in American Indian law and policy or other Indigenous Peoples Law for students completing the Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law program.

 

 

LSO 5112 - Foundations of Contract Law for the Energy Industry

2 Credit Hours

Explores the formation, drafting, interpretation and enforceability of contractual promises. Subjects include contract formation, performance, termination of contracts, material breach, remedies for breach of contract, mistake and excuse for nonperformance, statute of frauds, interpretation of contract language, conditions, assignment and delegation, and third party beneficiaries.

 

LSO 5232 - Introduction to Property Law and Natural Resources

2 Credit Hours

Provides an introduction to basic property concepts relevant for the oil and gas and energy industries, including: adverse possession; estates in land; mineral title, surface title, co-ownership, non-possessory interests (including easements, real covenants and equitable servitudes).

 

LSO 6352 - Negotiations, Communications, and Ethics

2 Credit Hours

Teaches effective negotiation and communication skills through a series of mock negotiation exercises. In addition, this course will discuss ethical dilemmas raised in the oil and gas industry.

 

LSO 6501 - Introduction to Petroleum Engineering and Geo-Sciences

1 Credit Hour

Presents an overview of the production life cycle from discovery to development and production of oil and gas. The course examines the different roles of the key players in each stage of this process.

 

LSO 6502 - Project Economics and Finance

2 Credit Hours

Introduces the economics and finance of capital-intensive projects, especially those involving power generation, public infrastructure, and extractive industries. Students will receive a broad overview of the project finance market, showing a typical project finance deal and the main players involved. The costs, benefits, and risks associated with project finance are also described.

 

LSO 6511 - Midstream Oil and Gas Law

1 Credit Hour

Provides an overview and an examination of the legal issues facing the midstream oil and gas industry. The midstream industry provides the infrastructure necessary to gather, process, transport, store and market crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and refined products.

 

LSO 6512 - Oil and Gas Law

2 Credit Hours

Nature of property interests in oil and gas; conveyancing of interests in oil and gas; legal interests created by oil and gas leases; validity of leases; habendum, drilling, and rental clauses; assignment of interests of lessor and lessee; rents and royalties; and conservation of oil and gas.

 

LSO 6513 - Oil and Gas Regulatory Practice

3 Credit Hours

Offers a practical skills approach to oil and gas practice. This course will examine the regulation of oil and gas exploration, development, and production, including conservation law designed to prevent waste and protect correlative rights. The class will address securing a drilling permit, settling surface damages, well spacing and density

 

LSO 6521 - Federal Lands Offshore

1 Credit Hour

Examines the oil and gas leasing and development of offshore federal and state lands. The class will address the role of federalism in the management of coastal zones, and federal regulation of drilling, operating, and producing wells.

 

LSO 6522 - Legal Drafting

2 Credit Hours

How does one discover a client’s objectives and then translate them into legal text (contracts, etc.) that has the best chance of accomplishing what the client wants? This skills course considers many different forms of legal drafting, focusing primarily on legal work intended for oil and gas contracts and surface-related agreement drafting.

 

LSO 6531 - Legal Research for the Energy Industry

1 Credit Hour

Students will be instructed on how to conduct energy-related research using a variety of sources, but especially using online resources.

 

LSO 6532 - Federal, State, and Indian Lands

2 Credit Hours

Examines the oil and gas leasing and development of onshore federal, state, and Indian lands. This class will also consider the leasing of railroad rights of way and lands belonging to local governments.

 

LSO 6553 - Oil and Gas Contracts

3 Credit Hours

Examination of specific provisions in contracts prevalent in the oil and gas industry for exploration, production, and development of oil and gas properties and for investment; the nature of the relationships created by such contracts; the rights and duties of the parties; income tax consequences of particular contracts.

 

LSO 6563 - Mineral Title Examination

3 Credit Hours

Examines the study of the relevant law relating to and the preparation of a drilling title opinion and a division order title opinion in Oklahoma, Texas, and other states.

 

LSO 6572 - Real Estate Transactions

2 Credit Hours

A study of the terms and legal issues involved in drafting, executing, enforcing, and recording real estate contracts, including obtaining and evaluating title evidence, different types of deeds, and basic financing.

 

LSO 6581 - Water Law for the Energy Industry

1 Credit Hour

The system of water rights as related for energy extraction and development, including riparian, appropriation, and prescriptive rights; stream, surface, and ground water; transfer and termination of rights; injuries caused by water; development of water supplies; federal-state, interstate, and intrastate conflicts; water pollution control; federal and Indian rights; and federal water resource problems.

 

LSO 6592 - Oil and Gas Environmental Law

2 Credit Hours

Examines federal and state environmental laws that affect oil and gas lease transactions, drilling and completion operations, and production activities.