Summer in France Academics

Learn about the courses and faculty in the Summer in France program.

Courses

Courses for Summer 2024:

European Union Law (1 credit)
Araceli Turmo, Professor of Law at the University of Nantes

The European Union has become a formidable trading bloc, and the gross national product of the European Union countries will soon rival that of the United States. As international trade increases, it is imperative that U.S. lawyers understand how the community is organized.

In this general introductory course, students explore the basic institutions and principles of the European Union as well as its procedures. The course looks also at the political reasons behind the creation of the European Union, and the impact of expansion to the former Soviet bloc countries of Eastern Europe. We will also look at the stresses and strains of recent years, and in particular the EU’s reaction to the nationalistic and authoritarian trends in some of the Member States.
 

Change and Development in European Legal Systems (1 credit)

Derek Wilson, Lecturer, the Faculty of Law at the University of Nantes. Solicitor, Scotland
Craig French, Legal Advisor, Scottish Government. Law Tutor, University of Glasgow. Solicitor, Scotland

In the first part of the course we will look at the major disruption being caused both to the United Kingdom and the European Union by the referendum in June 2016 for the UK to leave the European Union in 2019 (Brexit). We will examine the reasons for this populist vote, and the impact it is having on the hithertofore stable legal and constitutional system of the United Kingdom, and even the threat it poses to the continued unity of the Kingdom.

The second topic to be addressed is that of the legal systems of European countries, which have been subject to pressure to change and converge in the context of the European Union. In this course we will look at how certain issues are developing in the legal systems of Scotland (which is a mixed system, based partly on English law traditions, and partly on Continental law tradition) and France. For example, we will compare the written constitution of France with the largely non-written UK constitution, and will examine the further devolution of legislative power in Scotland in the light of the 2014 independence referendum; increasing legislative power in Wales; and the devolution of power to the Conseil Régionaux in France. We will also examine other topical questions in the various justice systems.

Comparative Corporate Law (1 credit)
Matt Doré, Emeritus Professor at Drake Law School

This course introduces students to the legal problems presented by corporations and related business associations. These problems include inherent conflicts between managers and shareholders, and conflicts between the corporation as a profit-seeking enterprise and third-party stakeholders. The course is designed to enhance students’ understanding of the American legal system’s response to these problems by examining and comparing foreign legal systems’ responses to similar problems. The course also provides an introduction to comparative law and the benefits lawyers derive from its study.

European Migration Law (1 credit)
Araceli Turmo, Professor of Law at the University of Nantes

The course will focus on the core issues of European migration law and the specific challenges that arise from the quasi-federal nature of the European Union. Through comparison with the U.S. legal system, students will analyze the similarities and the fundamental differences between the two systems.

The course will explore the European Union’s reaction to current migratory patterns in Europe, both those that exist within the EU and those that originate outside. We will examine the key distinction between the right to migrate granted to EU citizens and the status of nationals of other countries. A particular focus will be placed on the EU’s asylum policy, which is at the heart of many political and social issues related to migrations into the EU.

Global Issues in Criminal Law (1 credit)
Professor Ellen L. Yee, Drake Law School

The course will focus on international and transnational criminal law because practicing lawyers are likely to encounter these areas. The main subjects will be transnational criminal law, terrorism, and genocide. Issues of jurisdiction, which are generally not addressed in detail in a first year criminal law course, will be incorporated into the analysis of these subjects. The course will also explore some aspects of comparative criminal law. For example, it will examine how other systems view issues such as criminal intent, actus reus, and defenses by discussing the international tribunals’ treatment of the genocide cases.

Transnational Civil Litigation (1 credit)
Laurie Doré, Emeritus Professor at Drake Law School

With expanding globalization, it becomes very important for American lawyers to become familiar with the procedures for litigating disputes involving parties from outside the United States.  In this course, we will survey some of the recurring issues that arise in transnational civil litigation in United States courts.  The class sheds an international perspective on materials covered in Civil Procedure I and II.  Topics considered may include personal jurisdiction over foreign defendants, choice of law, service of process abroad, discovery, parallel litigation, and the enforcement of foreign judgments. 

Faculty

Drake Law School Faculty

Ellen Yee, Director of International Programs; Professor of Law
515-271-1914 ellen.yee@drake.edu
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Professor Ellen L. Yee is the Director of International Programs.  She teaches in the areas of Criminal Law, Professional Responsibility, Psychiatry and the Law, and Trial Advocacy. She is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Minnesota Law School where she was an Associate Managing Editor for the Minnesota Law Review. Before coming to Drake, Professor Yee was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Florida State University College of Law and a Deputy District Attorney in Marin County, California. Her research addresses issues at the intersection of evidence and criminal procedure.

Laurie Doré

Professor Laurie Doré is an Emeritus Professor at Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa.  Professor Doré recently retired after 30 years of teaching Drake students Civil Procedure, Evidence, and Conflict of Laws.  She is a five-time recipient of the Leland Sanford Forrest Outstanding Law Professor award and the 2009 recipient of the Madelyn M. Levitt University Teacher of the Year Award. Professor Doré is the author of the Iowa Practice Evidence treatise and has served as a Reporter and member of numerous Iowa Supreme Court committees devoted to improving Iowa’s civil justice system, including the rules of evidence and civil procedure.  Prior to joining Drake’s faculty, Professor Doré practiced law as a shareholder in the Texas law firm of Thompson & Knight and clerked for Judge Patrick Higginbotham on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 

Matt Doré

Professor Matt Doré is an Emeritus Professor at Drake University Law School.  He retired in February 2023, after teaching corporate and commercial law courses at Drake for 30 years. Professor Doré is a three-time recipient of the Leland Forrest Outstanding Professor award, most recently in 2022, and the 2016 recipient of the Madelyn M. Levitt University Public Service Award. Professor Doré has written numerous articles on business associations topics, many of which focus on Iowa law. He is also the author of Thomson’s Iowa Practice--Business Associations treatise (published annually since 2002). Professor Doré has served on a variety of law reform committees for the Iowa State Bar Association, as well as the ISBA’s Business Law Section Council and as the Council’s Chair. Prior to joining Drake’s faculty, Professor Doré practiced law as a shareholder in the Austin, Texas law firm of Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody and clerked for Judge Patrick Higginbotham on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 

Other Faculty

Craig French

Craig French is a practicing Solicitor with the Scottish Government in Edinburgh, Scotland. His current position is head of the Equalities and Criminal Justice Division in the Scottish Government Legal Directorate. He advises Government Ministers and senior officials on a wide range of constitutional and administrative law matters. Having been with the Scottish Government for over two decades, he has considerable experience of the Devolution Settlement in Scotland and public law issues, as well as the operation of the Scottish legal system. He is also a Senior Tutor at the University of Glasgow, teaching Human Rights Law and Practice on the post-graduate Diploma in Legal Practice.

Prof. Araceli Turmo

Professor Araceli Turmo is a Professor of European Union law at the University of Nantes Faculty of Law. She earned her doctoral degree at Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris 2) and a Diploma in Legal Studies at the University of Oxford. Before joining the University of Nantes, she taught at Sciences Po Paris as well as the Universities of Geneva, Paris 2 and Paris-Est. Her research focuses on European procedural law and European criminal law, fundamental rights and the rights of European citizens. 

Derek Wilson

Professor Derek Wilson is a lecturer in law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Nantes. He served as the Global Practitioner in Residence at Drake University in Fall 2014. He was admitted by Order of Scotland's Supreme Court in Edinburgh to the Law Society of Scotland's Roll of Solicitors and as a Notary Public in 1991. Mr. Wilson conducted both civil and criminal cases, from the highest to the lowest of Scotland's Courts, until he moved to France to take his current position. Mr. Wilson has participated in comparative legal research projects on British and European Law.