Study

This course serves as an introduction to the field of corporate crime, which now covers a large realm of government and law firm practice. The course will give students a first exposure to: (1) the contemporary practice in federal government agencies and medium to large corporate law firms of investigating, sanctioning, and representing corporations and their managers involved in potential criminal violations (and certain civil analogues); and (2) the debate in the public policy realm over whether, why, how, and when the criminal law should be applied in the corporate and business context.

This field is large, complex, and developing rapidly. This course therefore can cover only a selection of topics, and will emphasize policy and the need to confront gaps and uncertainty in doctrine. As there is no unitary body of black letter law in this field, this is not that kind of course. Coverage is likely to include mail and wire fraud, perjury and obstruction of justice, securities fraud (including insider trading and accounting fraud), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, corporate criminal liability, grand jury powers and procedure, representation of entities and individuals, the Fifth and Sixth Amendments in the corporate context, plea and settlement agreements, and sentencing.

The materials consist of a course pack and occasional handouts. Assigned reading averages about 80 pages per week. The grade will be based primarily on a take home exam, with some weight given to class participation. Use of laptops, smartphones, tablets, and the like will be prohibited during class meetings.

Fall 2016

Course Number	Course Credits	Evaluation Method	Instructor
306.01	Course Credits 4	Take-home examination Class participation	Samuel W. Buell
Sakai site: https://sakai.duke.edu/portal/site/LAW.306.01.F16
Email list: LAW.306.01.F16@sakai.duke.edu