Law 794:  Derivatives Regulation

This new course being offered at the College of Law will be taught by Professor Ronald Filler, who has taught this course for over 40 years at four different U.S. law schools and is a recognized legal expert in this field.  This course will cover all applicable laws and regulations as well as the customs and practices facing the derivatives industry and will prepare the student for a career in this field highlighted by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, major brokerage firms, such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, and other industry professionals.  The course will cover the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulations, the role played by the National Futures Association (“NFA”), the industry self-regulatory organization, and exchange regulations.  Topics will include the structure of the derivatives industry;  the various industry regulators; how each type of industry firm and persons are regulated;  the roles played by the exchanges and clearing houses;  how customer assets are protected;  litigation matters, including civil and criminal cases, and CFTC and Exchange enforcement actions; how different financial products, such as futures, options and swaps, are traded and regulated;  and several other related issues.  There will be no final exam but each student will be required to submit a final paper on a subject/topic agreed upon.

Sequence and Prerequisites: None

Evaluation:  There will be no final exam but each student will be required to submit a final paper on a subject/topic agreed upon.