There are nine courses students must complete to graduate as a Business Law Scholar. This coursework combines a broad base of corporate law with a traditional business curriculum, including two dedicated courses developed specifically for the program, and two credits of electives students choose to match their career goals. Students who are a good fit for Business Law Scholars will find this coursework well aligned with their law school curriculum plans.

Business Essentials/Mini MBA

Students work through 18 Harvard Business School cases and two Harvard Business School simulations – all led by Professor Stephen P. Hills. The goal of the course is to teach through case study and experiential learning how businesses function, the interrelationships between the various disciplines, and the common problems that businesses face from competition and changing marketplaces. This course is offered during the spring semester of 2L year.

Student report: “Mini-MBA helped me understand the underlying business concepts that my clients, as well as my firm, deal with on a day-to-day basis. The class is the most practical class I took at Georgetown because it helped me learn how to view how the law works in the real world, outside of a casebook.” Zach Wiewel, L’20

Corporate Boards Seminar: The Duties of Directors and their Advisors

This seminar will focus on the customary functioning of US publicly listed companies, as well as on the duties of directors and their advisors in times of crisis or significant change for the corporation. Taught by Prof. Eileen Kamerick, the course will simulate meetings of a board of directors of US publicly listed companies facing significant challenges or threats. Student teams will take turns serving as the Chairman of the Board/CEO, General Counsel, and Chief Financial Officer (or a different member of the management team, as deemed appropriate), leading the board of directors through a discussion of the most critical issues in each case study. Prof. Kamerick will lead follow up sessions to discuss and critique each management team’s presentation and materials and the performance of the students assuming the roles of board members. This course will emphasize the preparation of presentations, agendas, resolutions, minutes, and other legal, business, and strategy documents for boards and board committees.

Student report: “the two major classes for BLS (Mini-MBA and Leadership) were great courses that I otherwise would not have had access to.”

Accounting

Business Law Scholars are expected to have a firm understanding financial statements, how financial statements are developed from the underlying accounting information of a company, and how the basic transactions of a business affect each line item of each financial statement. Several courses are available to fulfill this requirement, including a Week 1 course that is completed in a five-day session before the start of the semester.

Corporations

Corporations is a foundation course for people interested in business law. Corporations is a prerequisite for many classes, including Corporate Finance, Securities Regulation, and many other corporate law classes. Topics covered include choice of organization, governance structure, and the fiduciary obligations of directors and officers. The particular nature of the public corporation is explored. The course also considers such policy questions as federal-state jurisdiction, the nature of the corporate governance system, and the role of the corporation in modern society.

Federal Income Taxation

This introductory course in federal income taxation considers the principles and policies of the Internal Revenue Code regarding the taxation of individuals and businesses. Major topics include the definition of income, deductions and exclusions, assignment of income, accounting, and issues of timing. Emphasis is placed on the use of the Internal Revenue Code and administrative and judicial material.

Student report: “I’ll be honest, I did not want to take tax but it became my favorite class at law school. So valuable!”

Finance

Two credits of Corporate Finance are required, which provide students with a foundation in the financial and legal aspects of a business’ capital structure. Finance coursework is designed to put students in a position to collaborate on and communicate regarding corporate finance matters with clients and other stakeholders such as bankers, investors and regulators.

Student report: “This class was really helpful to gain a better understanding of the kinds of transactions I’ll be working on in the coming year at the firm.”

Negotiations

All areas of business law require some level of negotiation. Georgetown Law’s intensive, interactive seminars are designed to teach both the theory and practice of negotiation, with the goal of improving students’ understanding of negotiation as well as their ability to negotiate effectively.

Student report: I loved Negotiations because I thought the professor was funny, engaging, and helpful. He taught us both life and professional skills that I will use for the rest of my life. In fact, at my summer job I had to do a mock acquisition and I used the skills I learned in Negotiations to get a great deal.

Securities Regulation

An efficient marketplace is developed and maintained by securities regulation. This class covers the disclosure philosophy of federal securities laws and the nature of regulation of the securities markets. Among the specific topics covered are registration and exemptions under the Securities Act of 1933 and civil liabilities under both the 1933 Act and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.

Student report: “I think Securities Regulation is an important class for any student hoping to pursue business law.”

Elective

More than 20 courses have been approved as electives for Business Law Scholars. Topics range from Mergers & Acquisitions, to Fintech, to Energy Trading. All courses have been proposed by students for inclusion on the list, and are available to all students to consider for meeting their elective requirement.

See a recent Business Law Scholars Curriculum Guide.

Waivers

Business Law Scholars who have previous coursework and experience in any of the required areas may apply for a waiver for a Business Law Scholars requirement. Waivers are considered on a case-by-case basis with input from professors that teach the required classes and from the director of the program. If you have questions about the requirements and think you may qualify for a waiver, please contact Kirsten Alman.