US Business Law Seminar

The seminar offers students the opportunity to deal with current US business law topics. Prof. Kellerhals will be joined by Prof. Lloyd Bonfield (New York Law School), who will lead the seminar. It will take place on October 8 and 9, 2026 in the premises of the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich at the following address: Bellerivestrasse 49, 8008 Zurich.

Students are kindly asked to indicate three topic priorities from the following list and send the topic requests (first come first serve) after they have been officially admitted/registered for the seminar to: michael.mayer@eiz.uzh.ch    

Topics: 

• Under what conditions may U.S. officials accept gifts from foreign governments? 
• Can the U.S. restrict exports of rare earths and critical minerals under existing national security and trade law? 
• Can U.S. agencies prefer domestic or “friendly“ supply chains under the Buy American Act without violating trade agreements? 
• Can employers monitor productivity with AI tools? 
• Liability for misleading influencer advertising: can influencers be sued as gatekeepers under U.S. consumer protection law? 
• Prediction Markets under U.S. Law: What Are the Key Regulatory Issues and Legal Challenges?
• Algorithmic pricing: are app-based surge prices illegal price-fixing under U.S. antitrust law? 
• Do U.S. sanctions and export-control obligations provide a safe harbor from antitrust liability when firms collectively disengage from foreign counterparties?
• Is Amazon’s “Buy with Prime“ offering an illegal tie-In? 
• Can Shein be blocked from the U.S. market? 
• SPACs subject to traditional securities law antifraud standards, or do they operate in a regulatory gap under current U.S. law? 
• Does SEC Regulation Fair Disclosure effectively prevent selective corporate disclosure in markets dominated by algorithmic trading? 
• Are companies liable for data breaches or misuse when AI tools process sensitive personal data in violation of U.S. privacy laws? 
• Is the vertical integration of AI infrastructure (chips, cloud, models, distribution) by major U.S. tech companies compatible with antitrust requirements?
• What legal and governance requirements must a U.S. pharmaceutical company consider when developing internal AI governance guidelines?

Once the topics have been allocated, the detailed seminar program, including the individual presentation slots, will be finalized and published. Each student must present on their topic for 20 minutes, followed by a 25-minute discussion. Deadline for the submission of Bachelors/Masters theses: October 31, 2026. Please send two printed versions of the thesis by mail to Europainstitut an der Universität Zürich, Bellerivestrasse 49, 8008 Zurich, and send a PDF version to michael.mayer@eiz.uzh.ch and lst.kellerhals@ius.uzh.ch.

The formal requirements are as follows:

Bachelor theses (6 ECTS credits): 20-25 pages (40,000-50,000 characters, excluding spaces, including footnotes), plus a cover page and table of contents. 

Master theses (12 ECTS credits): 30-40 pages (60,000-80,000 characters, excluding spaces, including footnotes), plus a cover page and table of contents. 

The paper must be formatted as follows: 

- Font: Times New Roman 

- Font size: Text 12pt, footnotes 10pt 

- Line spacing: 1.5 

- Margins: Top/bottom 2 cm, left/right 2.5 cm 

- Alignment: Justified with hyphenation

- Provide the thesis with a Declaration of Authorship

For details on the formal aspects see: Juristisches Arbeiten. Eine Anleitung für Studierende, Fortmoser/Ogorek/Schindler, Zürich 2023.