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  The disintegrating conscience and the decline of modernity

  Steven Douglas Smith

  Steven D. Smith’s books are always anticipated with great interest by scholars, jurists, and citizens who see his work on foundational questions surrounding law and religion as shaping the debate in profound ways. Now, in The Disintegrating Conscience and the Decline of Modernity, Smith takes as his starting point Jacques Barzun’s provocative assertion that “the modern era” is coming to an end. Smith considers the question of decline by focusing on a single theme—conscience—that has been central to much of what has happened in Western politics, law, and religion over the past half-millennium. Rather than attempting to follow that theme step-by-step through five hundred years, the book adopts an episodic and dramatic approach by focusing on three main figures and particularly portentous episodes: first, Thomas More’s execution for his conscientious refusal to take an oath mandated by Henry VIII; second, James Madison’s contribution to Virginia law in removing the proposed requirement of religious toleration in favor of freedom of conscience; and, third, William Brennan’s pledge to separate his religious faith from his performance as a Supreme Court justice. These three episodes, Smith suggests, reflect in microcosm decisive turning points at which Western civilization changed from what it had been in premodern times to what it is today. A commitment to conscience, Smith argues, has been a central and in some ways defining feature of modern Western civilization, and yet in a crucial sense conscience in the time of Brennan and today has come to mean almost the opposite of what it meant to Thomas More. By scrutinizing these men and episodes, the book seeks to illuminate subtle but transformative changes in the commitment to conscience—changes that helped to bring Thomas More’s world to an end and that may also be contributing to the disintegration of (per Barzun) “the modern era.”

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  Universal basic income: What everyone needs to know

  Matt Zwolinski and Miranda Perry Fleischer

  The motivating idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is radically simple: give people cash and let them do whatever they want with it. But does this simple idea have the potential to radically transform our society? Is a UBI the ultimate solution to the problem of poverty? Is it the solution to automation-induced unemployment? Can it help solve gender and racial inequality?
  
  This book provides the average citizen with all the information they need to understand current debates about the UBI. It recounts the history of the idea, from its origins in the writings of 18th century radical intellectuals to contemporary discussions centered on unemployment caused by technological advances such as artificial intelligence. It discusses current pilot programs in the United States and around the world, including how much (or little) we can learn from such experiments about how a large-scale UBI would fare in the real world. It explores both the promises and pitfalls of a UBI, taking seriously the arguments of both supporters and detractors. It also explains why the UBI has attracted supporters from all across the ideological spectrum--from conservatives to liberals, libertarians to socialists--and what the implications of this fact are for its political future.

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  Diversity judgments : democratizing judicial legitimacy

  Roy L. Brooks

  The US Supreme Court's legitimacy-its diminishing integrity and contribution to the good of society-is being questioned today like no other time in recent memory. Criticisms reflect the perspectives of both 'insiders' (straight white males) and 'outsiders' (mainly people of color, women, and the LGBTQ community). Neither perspective digs deep enough to get at the root of the Court's legitimacy problem, which is one of process. The Court's process of decision-making is antiquated and out of sync with a society that looks and thinks nothing like the America of the eighteenth century, when the process was first implemented. The current process marginalizes many Americans who have a right to feel disenfranchised. Leading scholar of jurisprudence Roy L. Brooks demonstrates how the Court can modernize and democratize its deliberative process, to be more inclusive of the values and life experiences of Americans who are not straight white males.

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  The equality machine : harnessing digital technology for a brighter, more inclusive future

  Orly Lobel

  Much has been written about the challenges tech presents to equality and democracy. But we can either criticize big data and automation or steer it to do better. Lobel makes a compelling argument that while we cannot stop technological development, we can direct its course according to our most fundamental values. With provocative insights in every chapter, Lobel masterfully shows that digital technology frequently has a comparative advantage over humans in detecting discrimination, correcting historical exclusions, subverting long-standing stereotypes, and addressing the world’s thorniest problems: climate, poverty, injustice, literacy, accessibility, speech, health, and safety. Lobel's vivid examples—from labor markets to dating markets—provide powerful evidence for how we can harness technology for good. The book’s incisive analysis and elegant storytelling will change the debate about technology and restore human agency over our values.

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  International trade, beyond Trump, in a nutshell

  Ralph H. Folsom

  This Nutshell examines the economics and rules governing international trade, with special emphasis on global and U.S. trade agreements in the disruptive Trump tariff war era.
  
  After introductory chapters on trade transactions and cross-border enterprises, it analyzes the World Trade Organization (WTO) package of agreements, Trump blockage of WTO dispute settlement, regulation of imports (including customs law), and trade remedy responses to import competition. Export controls, foreign corrupt practices, preferential free trade and customs union agreements, technology transfers and a chapter on Beyond Trump and Trade follow. Trade policy alternatives are discussed and highlighted as Biden Impacts throughout this Nutshell.

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  Fictions, Lies and the Authority of Law

  Steven D. Smith

  Is there any connection linking some of the maladies of modern life—“cancel culture,” the climate of mendacity in public and academic life, fierce conflicts over the Constitution, disputes over presidential authority? Fictions, Lies, and the Authority of Law argues that these diverse problems are all a consequence of what Hannah Arendt described as the disappearance of authority in the modern world. In this perceptive study, Steven D. Smith offers a diagnosis explaining how authority today is based in pervasive fictions and how this situation can amount to, as Arendt put it, “the loss of the groundwork of the world.”

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  The USMCA: NAFTA re-negotiated and its business implications in a nutshell

  Ralph H. Folsom and W. Davis Folsom

  No lawyer or business operating in North America can escape the significance of NAFTA and its successor, the USMCA agreement of 2018. This Nutshell introduces students, lawyers, government officials and business persons to the law and economics of North American free trade. It first examines the origins, operation and impact of NAFTA 1994. The changes made by the USMCA agreement of 2018, and their implications for business, are explored in detail. In preparing this Nutshell, we have attempted to address the interests not only of North Americans, but also persons located outside the region who are concerned about the externalities of North American free trade, intellectual property and foreign investment law.

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  International business transactions in a nutshell

  Ralph H. Folsom, Michael P. Van Alstine, and Michael D. Ramsey

  This work examines the law and practices relevant to the principal forms of international business and commercial transactions. It includes chapters on negotiating business transactions; the law governing international sales of goods; structuring international sales transactions; the function and substance of international commercial terms; the law governing the international transportation of goods; financing international business transactions, especially through letters of credit; electronic transactions and the protection of data privacy; technology transfers; the initiation, operation, and termination of, as well as the limitations imposed on, foreign investments; property takings, including the options for protecting against and remedies for such actions; the extraterritorial regulation of international business; anti-corruption law; and the resolution of international disputes, whether through litigation in domestic court or through international arbitration.

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  Mastering art law

  Herbert I. Lazerow

  This book tracks all published art law casebooks. It begins by asking what art is, and why there should be special rules for it. There follows a section on the rights and responsibilities of artists and collectors in areas such as freedom of expression, defamation, the right of publicity, the rights of privacy, copyright, trademark, moral rights, resale royalties, and the tax consequences of common art-related transactions. The book then treats commercial dealings in art, such as problems of authentication or ownership of the work, and commercial relationships between artists, collectors, dealers, auction houses and financiers of the art world. It deals with the law governing the organization and operation of museums, including employment law. The international treatment of art is discussed in terms of special rules for art in times of hostilities and occupation, as well as peacetime law governing the movement of art or artifacts across national boundaries, and national control of its artistic patrimony. A series of chapters detail the law on preservation of U.S. artistic heritage, such as historic preservation law, the ownership of artifacts found on land or under water, and special rules applicable to Native American remains and artifacts. The book concludes with a discussion of rules of international litigation frequently encountered in art law controversies, such as jurisdiction, foreign sovereign immunity, act of state, forum non conveniens, choice of law, enforcing foreign law, and proving foreign law--

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  Foreign investment law including investor-state arbitrations in a nutshell

  Ralph H. Folsom

  Foreign investment is commonplace around the globe. Inbound and outbound foreign investment flows are massive as home country investors merge or acquire existing businesses or establish new companies in host countries. Investors purchase stocks and bonds on foreign exchanges, and sometimes foreign sovereign debt. The sums involved are staggering. Unlike international trade law governed significantly by the World Trade Organization, no uniform body of foreign investment law exists. Hence foreign investment law is predominantly national in character and varies considerably. Foreign Investment Law including Investor-State Arbitrations in a Nutshell reviews the law, practice, regulation and dispute settlement of foreign investment. Following the Nutshell tradition, citations are minimized creating a book that reads easily. Students, academics, lawyers, government officials and people in business will find it useful. After introducing entry and operational control patterns found primarily in the developing world, notably expropriation, this Nutshell focuses on investing in China, Europe and North America as case studies. It also explores the multitude of foreign investment treaties (BITs) and the dynamic investment law of NAFTA 1994 and its USMCA 2018 successor. Controversial, specific foreign investor-host state arbitration awards and systems are closely examined.--Publisher website.

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  Principles of free trade agreements, from GATT 1947 through NAFTA Re-Negotiated 2018

  Ralph H. Folsom

  Free trade agreements (FTAs) have dominated global trade for over a decade. This dominance is likely to continue for many years on every continent. Already, more than half of all international trade takes place under FTAs. Principles of Free Trade Agreements, from GATT 1947 through NAFTA Re-Negotiated 2018 examines the origins of free trade agreements (FTAs) and customs unions (CUs) in Article 24 of the GATT 1947 agreement. Article 24 permits but attempts to regulate their creation, an effort that failed early on. A sleeping giant for decades, FTAs were re-awakened by the path-breaking Canada-U.S. FTA of 1989. In 1994, NAFTA triggered an onslaught of hundreds of FTAs around the globe, overwhelming the impact of the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995. The coverage, trade rules and trade remedies of the world's FTAs are remarkably and complexly diverse. Perhaps surprisingly, the hostility of President Trump to multilateral trade agreements like TPP-12, the WTO, the EU and NAFTA 1994, caused the number of FTAs to increase. America's trade partners and competitors rushed to secure trade deals not involving the USA. TPP-11, the Japan-EU FTA, the expanded Mexico-EU FTA, and the China-driven RCEP provide excellent examples. Meanwhile, despite being characterized by President Trump as the worst trade deal ever, the United States, Canada and Mexico completed re-negotiation of NAFTA in 2018. All of this, and more, is covered in this book. Designed for students, lawyers, government officials and people in business, the author addresses the interests not only of Americans, but also those located outside the USA who are concerned about the law and economics of free trade agreements. Active links for the e-book and downloadable versions of this Concise Hornbook are provided throughout.--Publisher website.

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  Principles of international litigation and arbitration

  Ralph H. Folsom

  Principles of International Litigation and Arbitration, 2d is part of West Academic Publishing's Concise Hornbook series. Its coverage commences with international dispute settlement Alternatives and Fundamentals, including Choice of Law, Choice of Forum and Forum Non Conveniens issues. Chapters 3 and 4 focus on International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Investment Arbitration. International Business Litigation is examined in five chapters: Jurisdiction, Procedure, Sovereign Defenses, Enforcement of Judgments and the EU Litigation System. Chapter 10 finishes with Intergovernmental Trade Dispute Settlement. Principles of International Litigation and Arbitration, 2d contains considerable depth, analysis, citations and related documents. It can be used in connection with any international dispute settlement course book. Principles can also be used independently as an inexpensive course book, notably in conjunction with the legal documents appended at the end of its chapters.--publisher website.

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  Birth Rights and Wrongs: How Medicine and Technology Are Remaking Reproduction and the Law

  Dov Fox

  This book lifts the curtain on reproductive negligence, gives voice to the lives it upends, and vindicates the interests that advances in medicine and technology bring to full expression. It charts the legal universe of errors that: deprive pregnancy or parenthood of people who set out to pursue them; impose pregnancy or parenthood on those who tried to avoid these roles; or confound efforts to have a child with or without certain genetic traits.

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  Understanding negotiable instruments and payment systems

  William H. Lawrence

  [This book provides an overview] of the subject matter covered by Articles 3, 4 & 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code and by relevant provisions of the Truth in Lending Act, and Fair Credit Billing Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and Regulations E, J, Z, and CC. A primary focus is directed toward the law of negotiable instruments and of bank deposits and collections. The author also address the existing legal regimes that govern payments made in all forms, including checks and other drafts, cash, credit card, automated clearinghouses, automated teller machines, debit cards, and wholesale fund transfer. Areas of coverage added to the second edition of the book includec hanges to the prior promulgation of Articles 3 and 4

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  Developing judgment about practicing law

  David McGowan

  The third edition retains its focus on contextual judgment and problem-solving. Drawing on input from both clients and lawyers, it helps students spot risky situations, avoid risk if possible, or extricate themselves from trouble if necessary. The third edition tracks changes in the law regarding discrimination and harassment, judicial ethics, and control of privilege in corporate transactions. It refines coverage of practical topics such as common interest agreements, advance waivers, client and lawyer use of social media, and flat-fee retainers.

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  Reflections on Crime and Culpability: Problems and Puzzles

  Larry Alexander and Kimberly Kessler Ferzan

  In 2009 Larry Alexander and Kimberly Ferzan published Crime and Culpability: A Theory of Criminal Law. The book set out a theory that those who deserve punishment should receive punishment commensurate with, but no greater than, that which they deserve. Reflections on Crime and Culpability: Problems and Puzzles expands on their innovative ideas on the application of punishment in criminal law. Theorists working in criminal law theory presuppose or ignore puzzles that lurk beneath the surface. Now those who wish to examine these topics will have one monograph that combines the disparate puzzles in criminal law through a unified approach to culpability. Along with some suggestions as to how they might resolve the puzzles, Alexander and Ferzan lay out the arguments and analysis so future scholars can engage with questions about our understanding of culpability that very few have addressed.

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  International trade law: including Trump and trade in a nutshell

  Ralph H. Folsom

  This Nutshell focuses on customs and tariff law, regulation of imports and exports, trade remedies against import competition, foreign corrupt practices, technology transfers, free trade agreements and customs unions, the law of the World Trade Organization, and President Trump and his trade policies.

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  You Don't Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie's Dark Side

  Orly Lobel

  The battle between Mattel, the makers of the iconic Barbie doll, and MGA, the company that created the Bratz dolls, was not just a war over best-selling toys, but a war over who owns ideas. When Carter Bryant began designing what would become the billion-dollar line of Bratz dolls, he was taking time off from his job at Mattel, where he designed outfits for Barbie. Later, back at Mattel, he sold his concept for Bratz to rival company MGA. Law professor Orly Lobel reveals the colorful story behind the ensuing decade-long court battle. This entertaining and provocative work pits audacious MGA against behemoth Mattel, shows how an idea turns into a product, and explores the two different versions of womanhood, represented by traditional all-American Barbie and her defiant, anti-establishment rival--the only doll to come close to outselling her. In an era when workers may be asked to sign contracts granting their employers the rights to and income resulting from their ideas--whether conceived during work hours or on their own time--Lobel's deeply researched story is a riveting and thought-provoking contribution to the contentious debate over creativity and intellectual property.

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  Pagans and Christians in the city: culture wars from the Tiber to the Potomac

  Steven D. Smith

  Traditionalist Christians who oppose same-sex marriage and other cultural developments in the United States wonder why they are being forced to bracket their beliefs in order to participate in public life. This situation is not new, says Steven D. Smith: Christians two thousand years ago faced very similar challenges.

  Picking up poet T. S. Eliot’s World War II–era thesis that the future of the West would be determined by a contest between Christianity and “modern paganism,” Smith argues in this book that today’s culture wars can be seen as a reprise of the basic antagonism that pitted pagans against Christians in the Roman Empire. Smith’s Pagans and Christians in the City looks at that historical conflict and explores how the same competing ideas continue to clash today. All of us, Smith shows, have much to learn by observing how patterns from ancient history are reemerging in today’s most controversial issues.

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  The Racial Glass Ceiling: Subordination in American Law and Culture

  Roy L. Brooks

  Why does racial equality continue to elude African Americans even after the election of a black president? Liberals blame white racism while conservatives blame black behavior. Both define the race problem in socioeconomic terms, mainly citing jobs, education, and policing. Roy Brooks, a distinguished legal scholar, argues that the reality is more complex. He defines the race problem African Americans face today as a three-headed hydra involving socioeconomic, judicial, and cultural conditions. Focusing on law and culture, Brooks defines the problem largely as racial subordination: 'the act of impeding racial progress in pursuit of nonracist interests.' Racial subordination is little understood and under acknowledged, yet it produces devastating and even deadly racial consequences that affect both poor and socioeconomically successful African Americans. Brooks addresses a serious problem, in many ways more dangerous than overt racism, and offers a well reasoned solution that draws upon the strongest virtues America has exhibited to the world.

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  Principles of International Trade Law: including the World Trade Organization, Technology Transfers, and Import/Export/Customs Law

  Ralph Folsom

  The essentials of international trade law/the WTO -- United States trade and tariff law -- Customs classification, valuation, and origin -- Antidumping duties -- Subsidies and countervailing duties -- Safeguard proceedings, trade adjustment assistance -- U.S. nontariff trade barriers and disputes -- Counterfeit and IP infringing imports -- Gray market imports -- United States export controls -- United States boycott laws -- United States anti-boycott law -- Foreign corrupt practices -- Unilateral U.S. Section 301 trade sanctions -- Technology transfers across borders -- An early commentary on trade policy under the Trump administration

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  European Union law including Brexit in a nutshell

  Ralph H. Folsom

  Old Europe -- New Europe, BREXIT -- Law-making in Europe -- Litigating European law -- Free movement -- Internal policies -- External trade and foreign investment law -- Business competition (Antitrust) Law

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  Principles of European Union law: including BREXIT

  Ralph H. Folsom

  This advanced, detailed guide provides a comprehensive review of laws and policies of the European Union. Chapter 1 looks at the history of the European Union including BREXIT. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on critical EU processes behind lawmaking and litigation. Chapter 4 examines the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people (including mass migration), while Chapter 5 covers a broad selection of internal EU legal regimes concerning business law, ranging from taxation to agriculture. The EU's complex external trade, foreign investment and customs law is analyzed in Chapter 6. Antitrust law and regulation of business agreements are covered in Chapter 7. The Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, along with the EU Charter of Fundamental Freedoms, are reproduced in Appendices

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  Principles of International Business Transactions

  Ralph H. Folsom, Michael W. Gordon, Michael P. Van Alstine, and Michael D. Ramsey

  This book is designed to provide a deeper analysis of the subject matter for users of the authors' popular problem-oriented coursebook, International Business Transactions, and its three spin-offs: Contracting Across Borders, Trade and Economic Relations, and Foreign Investment Law, as well as for legal practitioners as a resource for research and analysis.

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  California civil procedure

  Walter W. Heiser

  Written for those upper-level law students who intend to practice law in California, this casebook emphasizes those aspects of California Civil Procedure that are significantly different that the federal system. California Civil Procedure has several goals. First, upon completion of a course using this casebook, students will be prepared to competently conduct civil litigation in the California courts. Furthermore, this book examines the procedural advantages and disadvantages of litigating in the California courts as opposed to federal courts so new lawyers can make an informed choice between filing an action is one system or the other. This casebook also provides students with a brief summary of the federal or general position on each major topic as a basis of comparison and as a review of first-year civil procedure.