Business Law Courses

LLM511 Introduction to Law

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course aims to introduce students to the foundational legal concepts, themes and issues in the study of law including, but not limited to, the role and hierarchy of the legal and judicial systems, the law-making process, the fundamental civil rights and civil liberties and the relationship between the legal system and the society in general. The course presents a historical perspective on such basic ideas as common law and equity. It considers the development of legal thought and the role of external perspectives such as political science and economics in understanding and practicing law.

LLM512 Corporate Law

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course teaches students the fundamentals of corporate law: separate legal entity, liability, share capital and share issuance, board of directors, general assemblies, directors and shareholders’ duties and rights, etc. The course adopts a comparative approach between UK and US laws as well as civil codes with respect to the substance and application of corporate law.

LLLM513 Contracts

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Students will be taught the basics of contracts including (i) the formation, performance, breach, termination and interpretation of a contract; (ii) the significance of contract towards the parties thereto and third parties; (iii) the variety of contracts; (iv) the distinction between contracts and quasi-contracts; and (iv) the variety, scope and limitations on remedies.

The course will also focus on two main doctrinal topics: (i) the concept of contractual promises; and (ii) offer and acceptance.

LLM811 Analytical Legal Methods

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course provides the analytical foundations for legal practice in the modern world — a world in which sound legal advice requires the mastery of the techniques and language of disciplines such as economics, decision theory and game theory. After a brief review of the methodology of law and economics, this course exposes students to a broad survey of micro-economics, decision-theory and game-theory concepts. These analytical methods play a crucial role in the design and understanding of legal rules. The second part of the course builds on these premises to study the economic structure of several areas of law. Through this course students will develop a framework for the analysis of legal rules that will aid them in the remainder of their legal studies and professional life.

LLM813 Legal Ethics

[2–0, 2 cr.]

The course is divided into two parts, Ethics and Philosophy of Law. The Ethics component includes lectures on an area of moral philosophy known as ‘Applied Ethics’. This will involve discussions on issues such as: equality and discrimination, euthanasia, abortion, our obligations to poor and starving people, the ways in which we ought to treat animals and what ought to be done in situations where people have to make choices about suffering, life, and death. The Philosophy of Law component includes discussions on the principal theories of law, key issues in law – such as, law, rights, obligations, responsibilities, and punishment —, and the ethical foundations of the legal system. Thus, the aim of the course as a whole is to evaluate the main philosophical theories of ethics and law, probe central moral and legal issues, examine the practical application of such theories and issues, and analyze the interrelationship between ethics and law.

LLM823 Accounting, Finance and Strategy for Lawyers

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course teaches the basics every lawyer should know about accounting and finance in order to communicate, negotiate, and counsel effectively regarding business matters: the accounting process; the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow; financial statement analysis; auditing; time value of money; interest; credit; securities; risk; valuation; derivatives; financial decision rules; and financial markets and regulation. The course will also present the fundamentals of business strategy to a legal audience and introduces the basic framework for the analysis of strategy, organizational and contractual designs and discusses special topics in competitive strategy.

LLM826 International Commercial Contracts

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The main objective of the course is to introduce law students to different aspects of contractual practice in the dynamically evolving field of international business. Rapid processes of globalization in the international trade give rise to increasing expectations regarding legal services accompanying cross-border commercial exchange. Lawyers, assisting transnational transactions, are also frequently facing specific demands which do not have direct counterparts in the domestic practice.

LLM831 Legal Research

[2–0, 2 cr.]

Legal Research is a required first-year course that teaches students the basic techniques of legal research and analysis—essential tools of the lawyering profession. The course is based on introducing case briefing, case synthesis, and analysis through a series of research assignments. Students learn how to research legal issues, frame legal arguments, and analyze legal problems. In addition to learning traditional research methods, students are also trained to use computer-assisted legal research including Lexis and Westlaw. This full-year course culminates in an oral argument in a simulated court setting, during which each student argues a motion based on a brief written by the student.

LLM833 Legal Writing

[2–0, 2 cr.]

This course will teach basic legal analysis and writing. The course will be taught in small groups under the supervision of the legal writing faculty and will consist of a series of writing assignments. Students will learn American writing conventions for legal letters, memoranda, and briefs. This course should be especially helpful for students who are inexperienced in the use of precedent in a common law system.

LLM841 International Corporate and Commercial Taxation

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course is designed with a view to providing non-tax practitioners with a sound understanding of tax concepts and the ability to identify tax issues which arise in the context of structuring business entities and international business transactions. The course will concentrate on a structural analysis of the underlying issues and the panoply of solutions and approaches devised by various tax systems.

LLM843 Capital Markets Law and Regulation

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course provides an overview of international capital markets law and practice. Traditional as well as structured capital markets products will be considered in terms of the underlying legal techniques and commercial rationale and set against the background of the legislative and regulatory framework in Europe. Students will be expected to familiarize themselves with the main concepts, the structures and terminology used in capital markets and will develop an understanding of the interests of the parties involved as well as the policy reasons behind the national and international law relevant to capital markets transactions.

LLM845 Corporate Finance Laws

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course provides an in-depth examination of the legal framework for equity finance over the entire corporate lifecycle, including venture capital, management buyouts, initial and subsequent public offers of shares, rights issues, private equity buyouts and share buybacks. It will examine the use of different types of equity finance instruments and the legal rights associated with them. Close attention will be paid to the regime governing legal capital its implications for corporate transactions. The role of capital markets in raising new capital and trading shares will be examined along with the role of financial regulators in controlling that process.

LLM846 Corporate Governance

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course will provide an in-depth examination of the legal and market framework in which corporate governance operates. It will examine how the law approaches the governance structure of companies, focusing on the role of different stakeholders and the structure and powers of the two decision-making organs of the company, the general meeting of shareholders and the board of directors. Close attention will be paid to the role of institutional shareholders and financial markets and to the development of ‘soft-law’ governance codes and voluntary self-regulation as alternatives to formal legal control.

LLM852 Family Business and Offices

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course explores the challenges and opportunities facing individuals and families involved in family business relationships. The course uses a systems model of the family and business to demonstrate the interrelationships and connections among the key stakeholders. Some of the specific topics include the family system, culture, entrepreneurial influences, conflict and negotiation, career planning, ethics, governance, succession and strategic planning, professional support relationships, and survival skills as a son or daughter in a family business.

LLM853 Secured Transactions

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Course is concerned with all aspects of security in personal property, including creation of security interests, perfection, priorities (between competing security interests and between security interests and other property interests), default, realization procedures, and redemption.

LLM854 International Financial and Banking Regulations

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course will introduce the structure and regulation of international banking and finance. Topics include the regulatory environment, including local, and international regulatory systems; methods of entry into foreign banking markets; regulation of international banking activities; economic sanctions and their effect on international banking.

LLM855 Corporate Insolvency Law and Bankruptcy

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course introduces students to the law of personal bankruptcy and further develops the law of corporate insolvency. While understanding legal terminology, concepts, doctrine and processes are all vital to grasping and applying bankruptcy and insolvency laws, the course also seeks to frame those aspects in a wider historical, social, economic, and policy context. The course begins with an overview of debtor-creditor relations and the pre-insolvency context. Beyond this introductory phase, the course is broadly divided into two blocks, focusing initially upon personal bankruptcy and then corporate insolvency.

LLM856 International Intellectual Property

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course will focus on international treaties as they relate to protection of trademarks, and copyrights. These treaties include the Paris Convention, the Berne Conventions, WTO TRIPs, NAFTA, and the EC Harmonization Directives and Trademarks. The course will introduce students to the international aspects of branches of intellectual property as well as patent laws. Attention will be given to general principles of comparative and international law (e.g. territoriality), and to specific law related to obtaining and enforcing intellectual property rights in foreign countries.

LLM861 International Courts and Processes

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course introduces students to several important international courts including the (Permanent) International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal and the Central American Court of Justice. The course seeks to explain the formation, design, and expansion of international courts from both political and legal perspectives. On the political side, the course focuses on factors such as states’ capabilities, regime type, functional need, and diffusion. On the legal side, the course examines the intersection of domestic and international law, emphasizing the major legal systems in the world (civil law, common law, Islamic law). The course also focuses on what difference international courts make for interstate interactions and foreign policy behavior more broadly.

LLM863 International Sales of Goods

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course provides an advanced introduction to the study of the law of international sale of goods, with a particular focus on: the impact of international conventions, transnational model laws and uniform principles on international sales law; the relationship between international law and domestic law relating to sales transactions; and jurisdiction, choice of law, and cross-border litigation issues that may arise in the context of international sales transactions.

LLM865 Law of Mergers, Acquisitions and Restructurings

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course involves analysis of corporate restructuring strategies including mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, going private, and reorganization under bankruptcy. The course integrates the corporate governance and agency dimensions, financial and strategic management aspects, and legal considerations into a unified framework for investigating issues such as, pre-merger planning, fact-finding, antitrust problems, post-merger integration, and short-term and long- term shareholder wealth consequences of financial and organizational restructuring transactions. The course combines applied theoretical approach with the case study method through detailed analysis of domestic and global restructuring cases. The focus will be on fundamental concepts of valuation and analytical tools of corporate finance related to restructuring.

LLM866 International Trade

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Study of domestic and international laws and institutions governing foreign trade. Legal aspects of U.S. participation in the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, and other international forums; laws regulating customs and tariffs, most-favored nation treatment, subsidies, dumping, unfair trade practices, and disruptive imports under the escape clause. Specialized problems in regulating exports under the Export Administration Act, boycotts, corrupt practices, and restrictive business practices may be covered.

LLM872 Islamic Banking and Finance

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This Islamic Banking & Finance training course, aims at enabling the candidate to deeply understand the Islamic Banking operating system and the concepts of Islamic Finance through participation in class discussions and activities. Market participant candidates are to be well-equipped with an excellent background about Islamic Finance and its innovative products. An introductory background on the related Islamic concepts is offered linking them to the emerging banking and financial issues.

LLM875 Private Public Partnerships

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course will examine both the costs and benefits of public-private partnerships (P3s) as alternative public procurement methods, will contrast these with other procurement modes, and will consider how best to design P3 projects to serve public ends. Topics covered will include: (i) theories of P3s: where are the costs and benefits and how do these compare with other procurement models?; (ii) the financing of P3s; (iii) identifying, pricing and allocating risks in P3 projects; (iv) preparing a sustainable long-term concession agreement; and (v) assessing “value for money” in P3 arrangements.

LLM876 Alternative Dispute Resolution

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course aims to educate the students on the primary types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) including negotiation, mediation and arbitration.  Students will learn to evaluate the pros and cons of ADR processes and will work through simulations of ADR processes that are currently employed by international lawyers.

LLM880 Topics in Business Law

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course presents diverse theoretical, and methodological, perspectives on selected topics relevant to the field of Business Law. The course may offer an in-depth analysis of the relevant topics (e.g., Estate and Gift Taxation, Business Torts, International Business Transactions, Advanced Real Estate Transactions, etc.) or explore one relevant issue across others.