Madrid Program Information

COURTS, AI, SPEECH, AND INTERNATIONAL INTERNET
The Courts Tackle the Digital Age Domestically and Internationally: From the Internet to AI, Social Media, Free Speech, and Copyright (3 credits)

For more than a century, court decisions have lagged advances in technology. The advent of the Internet and developments in artificial intelligence, particularly generative artificial intelligence, have accelerated this gap. This course explores how courts and countries are tackling disruptive technologies and digital challenge, especially the contrast between the United States and Europe. The focus will be on a few select areas, including artificial intelligence, speech, including hate speech, social media, and copyright, with an introduction to trademark developments, though the lines are often blurred among these topics. We will look at statutes, rules, and cases that serve as the analytical foundation for these issues and consider contemporary efforts to address the shifting legal and digital landscape in an ambiguous environment. We will also consider the intersection of law and policy. Students will have an opportunity to engage in in-class presentations, debates, and exercises to highlight conflicting approaches in this arena. One highlight of the class will be the Madrid Scavenger Hunt. Students will be divided in groups and then dispatched to track down various examples related to course content.

INTERNATIONAL DEALS & GLOBAL CRISES
The High Stakes Game: Lawyering Cross-Border Deals in a Turbulent World (3 credits)

In today’s turbulent times, lawyers managing cross-border deals face unprecedented complexities. Cross-border deals always require mastering different legal systems, cultures and economies. Now those bedrocks of international practice are shifting more rapidly than ever before. This course teaches the fundamentals every cross-border lawyer needs to know: international M&A, joint ventures financing, getting money in and money out. It also discusses how to address deal-shaking events that demand innovative solutions, with no two alike. These events will be selected based on world developments at the time. They may include crises such as the Ukraine-Russia war, political reversals such as the election of Milei in Argentina and shifts in policy such as in relations between China and the U.S.

Click a faculty member listed below to view more information.

• McKeown, Hon. M. Margaret
• Heller, Frederick

The Madrid housing fee ($1000) includes accommodations in a single room with an en suite bathroom and shared living space, including kitchenette. Housing is limited to 16 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

Important Tips

• Secure your housing sooner, not later. Madrid is a busy city and a popular summer destination.
• Print out a map of the neighborhood and directions for reaching your housing location by public transportation from the airport (taxis are easy but costly).
• Take copies of all communications and receipts regarding your housing arrangements.

(information forthcoming)