Specialty Courses
At New York University School of Law economic analysis of law is taught throughout the standard curriculum. In addition the standard courses and the law and economics colloquia, the law school offers advanced courses in economic analysis.
Economic Analysis of Law
This course introduces students to the economic analysis of law. Basic principles of game theory and microeconomics are introduced and then applied to the analysis of legal problems. Topics covered include the Coase theorem, some common law doctrines, the analysis of political and judicial institutions, and some normative issues in welfare economics. The course emphasizes the way in which economists formulate and answer questions rather than particular substantive issues.
Behavioral Law and Economics
The law aims to control, guide, or facilitate many aspects of human behavior. To achieve these goals legal policymakers should benefit from an accurate account of how people make decisions. Research in psychology and behavioral economics has demonstrated that in many circumstances the standard rational choice model of neoclassical economics, which has also dominated the economic analysis of law, fails to provide a satisfactory account of human decision-making. As a result, a new model is emerging—a model informed by a more nuanced understanding of the interrelations between the law, economics and psychology of decision-making. This course will explore the implications of this new model for legal policy. Topics will include law enforcement, decision-making by judges and juries, pre-trial settlement negotiations, contract law and contracting, market manipulation and securities regulation, tort law and products liability, and antidiscrimination and affirmative action.
Quantitative Methods
This seminar will emphasize the increasingly important role of statistics in the legal process. Students will be given an introduction to basic methods (including sampling, hypothesis testing, the use of surveys, and multiple regression) that play a significant role in the litigation process. Substantive applications will include employment discrimination, voting, affirmative action, antitrust, and damages. Procedural areas of study will include class certification and the admissibility of statistical evidence. This is not a technical course. No background in statistics is required, and minimal use will be made of high-school algebra. Students will be expected to participate actively and to write a short paper.
Voting, Game Theory, and the Law
Voting, Game Theory, and the Law will first address the properties of various voting methods and procedures. The class will consider desirable properties that a voting method might possess and determine which methods, if any, have these properties. The ideas developed will be used to analyze some practical problems such as voting in union elections and the provision of minority representation in the context of the Voting Rights Act. Next the class will consider the concept of power and examine the distribution of power among voters in different states and within voting bodies such as the United Nations Security Council and congressional committees. Finally, the course will develop some concepts of strategic thinking used in game theory and apply these to voting situations and legal problems.
Law and Society
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Corporate Finance
This is an introduction to the basic elements of modern corporate finance theory and practice. Topics covered include cash flow analysis, valuation, capital budgeting techniques, the Capital Asset Pricing Model, the Efficient Market Hypotheses, dividend policy, futures and options. Most of the principles are illustrated through graphic and mathematical models, although no math beyond simple algebra is required. All students are required to obtain a full-function financial calculator. Although the course uses a business school textbook, the approach to the course is from the perspective of an attorney.
Accounting for Lawyers
Accounting for Lawyers is designed to be accessible to students with no prior exposure to accounting. Emphasis is on the standard financial statements-balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. Substantial attention is given to the accounting dialectic (debit and credit) so that students can trace events from underlying transactions to financial statement aggregates and vise versa. The time value of money is also studied. Problems are used extensively.
NYU School of Law students can also cross-register to courses at the economics department, the Stern School of Business, the politics department, and the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.