Teaching

This course surveys the fundamentals of international law. It introduces students to the institutions, doctrines, and methodologies of public international law, and provides the prerequisite foundation for subsequent specialized courses in areas of international law. Those areas range from the use of force to international criminal law to international economic law (trade and investment) to human and international labor rights. While this survey course will expose students to these substantive areas, its aim is to equip them with the tools to evaluate any substantive area of international law they may encounter in their legal careers.

This course introduces the law and policy concerning workers’ rights in the global economy. Students will learn basic elements of international law surrounding sovereignty, consent, and treatymaking; the meaning and scope of the fundamental international labor rights as the International Labor Organization (ILO) defines and enforces them; and the intersection of ILO governance and state governance through bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. Finally, it covers specific challenges confronting vulnerable workers, such as women and migrant workers, sex workers, and LGBTQ+ workers, who have not benefited equally from international labor protections.

This course provides a general introduction to U.S. labor law.  Among other topics, the course considers the right to organize and bargain collectively (and the right to refrain from so doing); negotiating collective bargaining contracts; securing bargaining rights through other methods; the duty to bargain in good faith; picketing, strikes, and boycotts; and current developments under the Trump administration. Students are expected to be able to explain in writing how these, and additional legal issues under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), apply to various complex factual scenarios.

This course provides an overview of how international economic law, including trade agreements negotiated between governments and forced labor bans, affects workers. Unlike law courses that focus on U.S. national laws, or compare different national laws, this course centers on the intersection of international trade rules and labor standards. Even if students do not plan to work in trade, workers’ rights, or international law, every attorney needs a general working understanding of how laws evolve and how they respond to competing priorities and interests.