J.D. Business and Entrepreneurial Emphasis Area Requirements
Emphasis in Business & Entrepreneurial Law
The Emphasis in Business and Entrepreneurial Law program is designed to provide within the J.D. degree a well-rounded course of study for students interested in an emphasis in business law and transactional practice.
The Business and Entrepreneurship Emphasis prioritizes practical skills training. Students enrolled in the emphasis will build transactional and client counseling skills in the Business Planning course and in the Entrepreneurial Legal Services Clinic. Several optional classes offer additional experiential and skills-based instruction.
Admission
Any candidate for the J.D. degree who has earned passing grades in the Business Organizations and Federal Taxation courses may apply for the Emphasis in Business and Entrepreneurial Law program.
The deadline for application to the program shall be no later than the beginning of the second week of classes of the student's sixth semester of law school. Any student who applies after the beginning of his or her fourth semester must demonstrate that the program can be completed by the end of the sixth semester of law school. Appropriate adjustments will be made to deal with part-time students not on the regular semester schedule. Exceptions to the deadlines may be made with approval of at least two-thirds of the Emphasis Faculty Advisors: any full-time, long-term contract, tenure-track or tenured professors who concentrate on business, entrepreneurial, or transactional law within the School of Law (the "Emphasis Faculty Advisors").
Student Learning Outcomes
Students graduating from this program will:
- Students will demonstrate mastery of core doctrinal knowledge within emphasis area.
- Students will demonstrate mastery of skills necessary for objective legal analysis.
- Students will demonstrate mastery of the skills necessary for effective legal research in the emphasis area.
- Students will demonstrate mastery of legal writing with particular emphasis on transactional drafting.
- Students will demonstrate mastery of the duties of attorneys as members of the legal profession.
- Students will demonstrate ability to work with people in a professional environment.
- Students will demonstrate competency in professional work habits.
- Students will demonstrate entry-level proficiency in lawyering skills especially relevant to the emphasis area.
Requirements
Writing Requirement
The Business Emphasis requires students to complete a paper of high professional quality that reflects detailed research and analysis of one or more business or entrepreneurial law topic(s). The paper must be certified by one of the Emphasis Faculty Advisors as satisfying that standard. A student may request such certification through their J.D. upper-level writing requirement paper or through any other paper done during their J.D. program, whether in connection with a course, independent study, or otherwise, and whether or not the paper is graded or given course credit toward their J.D.
Practical Skills Training
The Business and Entrepreneurship Emphasis prioritizes practical skills training. Students enrolled in the emphasis will build transactional and client counseling skills in the Business Planning course and in the Entrepreneurial Legal Services Clinic. Several optional classes, noted below, offer additional experiential and skills-based instruction.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional Lawyering Skills Lab | ||
| Business and Personal Finance | ||
| Entrepreneurial Lawyering: Solo and Small Firm Practice | ||
| Advanced Legal Writing: Business Contract Drafting | ||
| Business Planning | ||
| Entrepreneurial Law & Practice Clinic | ||
| Negotiating Mergers And Acquisitions | ||
| Real Estate Transactions | ||
| Intellectual Property Clinic |
Ethics Requirement
Each candidate for the Emphasis must attend at least three clock hours of instruction dealing with ethical issues that frequently arise in the business and entrepreneurial law field and that is approved by the Business Emphasis Administrator (defined at the end of this page).
Advanced Research Requirement
All students in the program must satisfy an advanced research requirement that provides familiarity with materials and sources frequently consulted by lawyers practicing in the business and entrepreneurial law field. Subject to approval of at least two-thirds of the Emphasis Faculty Advisors, this may entail a separate course, a component of an existing course, a separate lecture, seminar or workshop offering, or demonstrably satisfactory training on advanced research in connection with the Emphasis Writing Requirement.
Curriculum Requirements
The Business and Entrepreneurial Law Emphasis requires successful completion of all six required courses below, together with the Writing, Ethics, Advanced Research, and other J.D. requirements described in this catalog. Courses used to satisfy the J.D. upper-level writing requirement may also be used to satisfy the Emphasis Writing Requirement.
Required Courses (All must be taken on a graded basis unless otherwise approved by the Emphasis Faculty Advisors)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LAW 8601 | Business Organizations | 3 |
| Secured Transactions | ||
or LAW 8861 | Real Estate Finance | |
or LAW 8736 | Debtor-Creditor Rights | |
or LAW 8604 | Business and Personal Finance | |
| Securities Regulation | ||
| Legal Accounting (or other approved prior accounting education) | ||
| Corporate Taxation I and Partnership Taxation I | ||
or LAW 8603 | Taxation Of Business Organization | |
| LAW 8552 | Federal Taxation | 3 |
Highly Recommended Optional Courses:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional Lawyering Skills Lab | ||
| Business and Personal Finance (if not taken to satisfy Group A course) | ||
| Antitrust And Fair Competition Law | ||
| Entrepreneurial Lawyering: Solo and Small Firm Practice | ||
or LAW 8757L | Special Topics in Entrepreneurial Lawyering | |
| Secured Transactions (if not taken to satisfy Group A course) | ||
| Commercial Transactions | ||
| Debtor-Creditor Rights (if not taken to satisfy Group A course) | ||
| International Business Transactions | ||
or LAW 8832 | International Trade Law | |
| Business Planning | ||
| Entrepreneurial Law & Practice Clinic | ||
or LAW 8757N | Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation | |
| Social Entrepreneurship Ventures | ||
or LAW 8915 | Social Venture Creation | |
| Labor Law | ||
or LAW 8813 | Employment Discrimination Law | |
or LAW 8814R | Employment Law | |
| Administrative Law | ||
| Public Finance | ||
| Art Law | ||
or LAW 8890A | Sports Law I, Amateur Sports Law | |
or LAW 8890B | Sports Law II, Professional Sports Law | |
or LAW 8890R | Entertainment Law | |
| Intellectual Property Law | ||
or LAW 8798 | Copyright Law | |
or LAW 8882 | Patent Law | |
| Negotiating Mergers And Acquisitions | ||
| Real Estate Finance (if not taken to satisfy Group A course) | ||
or LAW 8875 | Real Estate Transactions | |
or LAW 8875L | Legal Context of Real Estate Decision Making | |
| Tax-Exempt Organizations | ||
| Sales and Leasing | ||
| Construction Law | ||
| Advising Life Sciences and Technology Entrepreneurs | ||
| Intellectual Property Clinic | ||
| Advanced Legal Writing: Business Contract Drafting | ||
Graduation
For a student's participation in the Business Emphasis to be recognized at graduation and on such student's transcript, and in addition to satisfying the other above-described requirements, the student must have completed and passed courses sufficient to satisfy the courses requirements described above and achieved a grade-point average of at least 3.0 in the Applicable Courses; provided that a student may, at the student’s option, omit a grade received in either Corporate Taxation I or Partnership Taxation I, while still counting the course to reach the courses completed and passed requirements for the Business Emphasis; and provided that a student may also omit any grade received in any optional course. For this purpose, "Applicable Courses" means whichever required ourses the student completed and passed that the student elects to count toward satisfaction of the required courses (i.e., if a student takes more than one of the courses joined by "or," the student may choose which one counts) and all optional courses completed and passed by the student.
Important Note: Because the School is committed to keeping up with changes in the practice of law, and because of potential scheduling changes on course offerings due to various circumstances, the requirements for emphasis areas may change during the course of a student's enrollment at the Law School. A course of independent study not listed above can meet a Business Emphasis course requirements if approved by at least two-thirds of the Emphasis Faculty Advisors. The requirements at the time a student is granted admission into the emphasis area are the requirements that govern completion of the student's emphasis requirements.
For questions about applying for the Business Emphasis or satisfying its requirements, or about possible revised requirements that will take effect in the next academic year, ask the Business Emphasis Administrator. The “Business Emphasis Administrator” means an Emphasis Faculty Advisor appointed to be the principal contact with candidates for administration of the application to pursue and monitoring compliance with the requirements to earn the Business Emphasis credential.