Kevin E. Davis

Courses

• Contracts

  The body of law concerned with private agreements, including capacity to contract, contract formation, interpretation, conditions, excuse of performance, and remedies for breach, is the focus of this course. Attention is given to the Uniform Commercial Code and other relevant statutes as well as to principles of common law and equity.

• Financing Development Seminar

  It is widely believed that in the context of the developing world access to capital is one of the crucial determinants of prosperity. Through close study of specific transactions this seminar will explore legal and economic aspects of some of the distinctive channels through which capital tends to flow to the inhabitants of developing countries. The types of transactions examined may include sovereign lending, project financing, development banking, and micro-lending. In addition to canvassing the relevant academic literature, for each type of transaction we will review examples of the supporting documentation and, in some cases, hear from actual participants. Students will be evaluated on the basis of: an in- class presentation of their analysis of a specific transaction (which may be done as part of a group); written comments upon other students’ presentations; a 12-15 page paper; and, classroom participation.

• Law and Development

  This course will examine the various roles that law and legal institutions play in economic, social, and political development, in both theory and practice. The course will cover general theories of the relationship between law and development as well as explore, more specifically, the relationship between law, decolonization and development. The course will explore claims about the impact upon development of empire, modes of lawmaking, legal education, and laws devoted to specific topics such as property, the status of racial minorities, and anti-corruption efforts. Comparative as well as historical analysis employing different methodologies, such as case studies and statistical analysis, will be used to explain successes and failures of law and development initiatives over time and across countries.

• Secured Transactions

  This course provides a general introduction to the law governing debtor-creditor relationships and related policy concerns and an in-depth treatment of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, which governs the use of personal property as collateral. This course complements but cannot serve as a substitute for an in-depth course on bankruptcy law.