Curriculum
Required Courses (6 credits)
LAWS 716 Lawyering Skills for LL.M. Students (4 credits)
The course will introduce you to the basics of United States legal discourse including (1) how to read and brief cases; (2) how common law lawyers analyze, compare and synthesize cases and interpret statutes; (3) how to write legal memoranda; (4) the basics of legal research (including use of secondary sources, ALRs, case reporters and digests); and (5) how to convey advice to a client in a letter. The class will also touch briefly on scholarly writing and law school exams. The class will meet for five days during orientation week and then twice each week during the fall semester. There is also a trip to a court house and two mandatory 30 minute conferences with the instructor. Course Syllabus.
LAWS 932 LL.M. Mentor Externship (2 credits)
This is a required year-long course for LL.M. students that integrates each student’s fieldwork experiences with a local practicing lawyer assigned as that student’s mentor, and provides guidance to each LL.M. student in his or her self-directed professional journey throughout the LL.M. year of study. The course meets once a week throughout the year. It is taught by the LL.M. Program Director. Key components of the course include 1) feedback and guidance from the LL.M. Program Director throughout the year; 2) small group class sessions focused on essential competencies; 3) two written assignments focused on developing relationships with mentors and clients; and 4) an ongoing dialogue about what students are seeing and doing with their mentors, with particular focus on intercultural challenges.
Elective Courses (18 credits)
You will choose six to eight courses (18 total credits) from the existing J.D. curriculum to complete your course requirements. The following are examples of courses that can help prepare you to practice business and corporate law in a global context. For guidance on focused course work in other areas, such as criminal practice, dispute resolution and public interest law, see Areas of Study.
Accounting for Lawyers
Administrative Law
Advanced Corporations
Antitrust Law
Arbitration Law and Practice
Banking Law
Bankruptcy
Business Associations
Business Externship
Business Planning
Comparative Constitutional Law
Corporate Finance
Corporate Governance
Credit and Payment Devices
Employment Discrimination
Employment Law
Employment Law Practice
Environmental Law
Ethical Leadership in Corporate Practice
Federal Income Taxation
Immigration Law
Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property Litigation
International Finance
International Human Rights
International Law
International Law and Catholic Social Thought
International Business Transactions
Labor Law
Law of Nonprofit Organizations
Mergers and Acquisitions
Negotiation
Patent Law
Pensions and Employee Benefits
Sales
Secured Transactions
Securities Regulation
Taxation of Business Enterprises
Transactional Drafting