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Course Descriptions

Spring 2027 Class Descriptions: Electives

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Securities Regulation (LWBC580)

Instructor(s): Sebastian Lucier

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Public Interest Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Business and Corporate Law (MSLS)
Recommended Class(es): Corporations

The Securities Regulation class will include an overview of the capital markets and the underwriting process, the structure and prohibitions of the Securities Act, the registration process, the definitions of security and exempted securities, the private and limited offering exemptions, offerings by underwriters, affiliates and dealers, civil liability under the Securities Act, fraud in connection with a purchase or sale of a Security, and general civil liability provisions.

Note:

This is a required course for the Business and Corporate Law Concentration (JD).

Sports and the Law (LWBC585)

Instructor(s): Terezka Zabka

2 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), Employment and Labor Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG), Business and Corporate Law (MSLS)

This course will address the often unique manner in which the law applies to the business of sports. We will study the law relating to player contracts, antitrust, sports leagues and commissioners, agents, sports venue management and the unique issues raised by college sports.  It will also provide students with broad knowledge of the business practices at the core of sports. 

Startups and Venture Capital (LWBC587)

Instructor(s): Gad Weiss

3 credit(s), Letter Graded
Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMUS), Business and Corporate Law (MSLS)

Over the past few decades, tech startups and the disruptive technologies they develop have become one of the most powerful drivers of economic growth, human advancement, and welfare. Companies that are, or once were, venture-backed startups dominate the stock markets, account for the overwhelming majority of newly granted patents, lead in R&D spending and other measures of innovation, and create jobs faster than any other sector. Economies around the world strive to build Silicon Valley-style startup ecosystems and replicate its success.
This course provides an overview of how this vital market segment works. We will examine how and why tech startups form, raise capital, and allocate control and economic rights among their founders, employees, investors, and other stakeholders.
The course is organized around two modules. The first, startup finance, covers the mechanics and structure of the deals through which startups raise money from investors. We will learn how to plan, negotiate, and draft startup investment rounds, from informal angel financing to full-scale venture deals, while analyzing real-world deal documents. The second, startup governance, addresses the distinctive corporate governance challenges that tend to impact venture-backed startups. We will see how the fiduciary duties of care and loyalty owed by startup directors, familiar to you from the general Corporations course, play out in scenarios such as distressed financing, share redemptions, secondary deals, or underwhelming exits.


Additional Information: Business and Corporate Law Concentration

State and Local Taxation (Online asynchronous learning modules) (LWTE552)

Instructor(s): Staff

3 credit(s), Letter Graded

This course will provide students with the ability to understand and identify significant, recurring state and local tax (“SALT”) issues faced by taxpayers, their representatives and government agencies. The course will familiarize students with current legal and policy questions raised by sales taxes, personal and corporate income taxes, and property taxes that state and local governments rely upon to operate and fund public services. The course will also introduce students to the concept of state tax competition. Topics include taxation in a service economy, taxation in a digital economy, taxation of remote workers and multi-state entities, and economic development tax incentives. Many of these issues will be viewed through constitutional lenses, including the Commerce Clause, Due Process, Equal Protection and Privileges and Immunities.  As a result, students will be able to analyze the constitutional basis for each type of tax; address apportionment issues; analyze the strengths and weaknesses of significant legal and audit issues; and assess the logic and strength of challenges to tax assessments. Note that although California state and local tax issues will occasionally be referenced in this course, the course is not focused on California tax law, and the concepts introduced are generally applicable to every state taxing regime. No previous knowledge of tax law is required for this course.

Note:

Only students in the online LLM in Taxation program may enroll this course.

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Spring 2027