Name: Briefing a Case by University of Virginia School of Law
Duration: 30 min 54 s
Description: UVA Law professor Sarah Stewart Ware gives advice on how to brief a legal case during orientation for the Class of 2022. (University of Virginia School of Law, Aug. 16, 2019)

The Invasion Tax

The lawsuit over Ukraine's $3 billion bond debt to Russia seems to be on hold (maybe forever) in the English courts. And maybe there is no way for the Russian government to force repayment. Still, the debt is a minor cloud hanging (along with many bigger ones) over Ukraine. It would be nice if there was a way to make it go away permanently. Might there be? We talk about a common provision in a sovereign bond's Taxation section — we aren't sure how common, but it certainly isn't unique to Ukraine — that lets the issuer tax investors who have a connection to it other than simply holding its bonds. As written, this provision would allow Ukraine to impose a 100% tax on bond payments to Russia. This may not be what the drafters had in mind, and it opens the door to some unsavory tax shenanigans, but an Invasion Tax doesn't seem too objectionable.

Also: "Whatever it takes" means "whatever it takes!" Except when it means something else.

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 162 - The Invasion Tax

Judge Lisa Lorish ’08 joins her classmate, Admissions Dean Natalie Blazer ’08, to discuss her path to the Virginia Court of Appeals following a successful career in private practice and as a federal public defender. Currently a lecturer at UVA Law, Judge Lorish offers advice to law school applicants, students and graduates, and shares what she loves most about serving on the bench.

S7 E4: Approaching the Bench

What if POTUS wanted an OBBD?

Let us say, purely hypothetically, that there is a point at which some combination of the spending excesses of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the government shutdown, a rejection by the Supreme Court of tariff mania, and more, result in a shortfall of revenues for the current administration. And let us also say that POTUS goes to his brains trust to ask how best to do an OBBD/R (One Big Beautiful Default/Restructuring). What path might the brains trust take? And what about the option of taxing the treasury holdings of foreign governments, which the administration has already signaled its interest in?

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 163 - What if POTUS wanted an OBBD?

Older, wiser law students (“owls”) Neil Noronha ’26 and Kathleen Samuelson ’26 join Admissions Dean Natalie Blazer ’08 to discuss how they forged their paths as nontraditional applicants and found community at UVA Law. 

S7 E5: Happy OWL-oween!

Cambodia’s “Dirty Debts” to the US — Redux

In the 1970s, the US allowed Cambodia to finance the importation of rice and other agricultural commodities. The debt remains unpaid. One version of this story is that successor Cambodian governments have refused to pay these “dirty” debts. In this telling, the US used the loans to prop up a friendly but illegitimate Cambodian regime. Although the US shipped food, loan proceeds mostly financed the Cambodian military, which the US used as a proxy in the fight against the North Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge. Meanwhile, the US was bombing the Cambodian countryside, destroying domestic food production and contributing to a humanitarian crisis. To make matters worse, it turns out most of the food was sent to countries other than Cambodia. To some observers, the US bears a significant share of responsibility for the Khmer Rouge’s ultimate rise to power. Decades later, after indescribable suffering (caused at least in part by US interference) the US wants money back. The contours of this story are largely true, but the real story of the PL-480 “Food for Peace” program is more complicated. Today’s episode is about what we have found so far and the questions that still remain open.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5561161

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 164 - Cambodia’s “Dirty Debts” to the US — Redux

UVA Law Professor and Education Rights Institute Director Kimberly Jenkins Robinson discusses her passion for education rights and why she founded ERI, how law students are critical to the institute’s operation and the work the institute is doing to further the right to a high-quality education in America. Robinson also shares why she loves teaching at the Law School and why she believes UVA Law students are “the happiest group of law students.”

S7 E6: The Education Rights Institute at UVA Law

Total Return Swaps 

There have been reports in the financial press about the use of Total Return Swaps to provide credit to governments (e.g., Angola), often in situations where the government can't otherwise borrow on capital markets. As best we understand them (i.e., badly) these are derivatives backed by sovereign bonds and sometimes cash as collateral. The collateral reduces borrowing costs and the debt stays off books, since the obligation to pay the bonds is contingent (since the bonds are only collateral). We increasingly hear scuttlebutt suggesting these deals are commonplace, and some of our investor friends complain that TRSs effectively subordinate existing creditors. We don't understand TRSs well, and we have questions. Isn't this just garden variety debt dilution? Does it violate the negative pledge clause?

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 165 - Total Return Swaps

Imperial (Defaulted) Chinese Bonds (Again)

Yes, one of us might have sworn up and down that we would never do another episode about defaulted Imperial Chinese bonds. But a brand new case out of the DC federal courts has changed our minds. The case got the back of the hand from the district judge, but the arguments being made were not as weak as a quick glance at the opinion might suggest. Dare we hope for the entertainment value provided by an amicus brief filed by the Trump administration in support of the plaintiffs?

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 166 - Imperial (Defaulted) Chinese Bonds (Again)

Assistant Dean for Private Practice Lauren Parker ’08 and Director of Private Practice Kira Walmer ’08 join classmate Admissions Dean Natalie Blazer ’08 to discuss how UVA Law’s individualized approach to career counseling prepares students to navigate an increasingly fast-paced and unpredictable job market. Parker and Walmer offer practical tips for balancing the job search with first-year coursework; advise how to make the most of each career counseling session; share which skills and traits make someone a “keeper” in the legal industry; and more.

S7 E7: Navigating Today’s Legal Job Market

Admissions Dean Natalie Blazer ’08 wraps up the year with insights about each episode of Season 7.

S7 E8: Season 7 Wrapped

UVA Law professor Sarah Stewart Ware gives advice on how to brief a legal case during orientation for the Class of 2022. (University of Virginia School of Law, Aug. 16, 2019)

Briefing a Case

To request an audio transcript that is not at law.virginia.edu/news/videos-podcasts, please contact comm@law.virginia.edu. Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.

Briefing a Case

University of Virginia School of Law

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