Business Law Degree (Concentration) | New England Law
Business Law Concentration
Academics and Faculty
Certificates and Concentrations
Business Law Concentration
Our unbeatable location in the heart of Boston’s commercial and financial district and leading-edge, experiential curriculum make New England Law a great place to launch your career in the in-demand, fast-paced world of business law.
Tackle Emerging Issues
Understand the multifaceted arena of business law as you explore its evolving issues, including:
Compliance
Commercial law
Corporate governance
Securities practice
Federal tax planning and practice
Intellectual property protection
Estate planning
Health law
Sports law
The Center for Business Law
Benefit from our on-campus hub for research, thought leadership, and experiential learning in business law. At the Center, you’ll discover how the legal and business worlds intersect, explore emerging issues, and gain resume-building experience as you learn from and work with some of this field’s foremost minds.
Business Law Concentration Courses
To earn a concentration in Business Law, choose 10 credits from any of these exciting electives.
Designed to give students a familiarity with accounting and business theory and terminology. Heavy emphasis is placed on planning and analyzing various business transactions from an accounting and legal perspective using financial data and incorporating tax implications. Please check the most recent course registration information to determine if this course meets the Experiential Education/Professional Skills requirement.
Placements in settings that expose students to the practice of business and/or intellectual property law are within the broad scope of the clinic. Students in this clinical component spend 10 (2-credit) or 15 (3-credit) hours per week on fieldwork. Given the broad range of possible placements, students might work in government agencies, private law firms, nonprofit organizations, the legal department of businesses, or in placements through which students may work in the area of compliance. Students will submit weekly journals, describing and reflecting on their experiences in the field, and will meet in a series of seminars with the course instructor and/or the Clinical Director to explore the relationship between the principles covered in the substantive class and the students’ fieldwork. While Business Organizations is the co/prerequisite for all placements, certain Intellectual Property courses may additionally be required by the course instructor for eligibility for placements in the Intellectual Property area. This course satisfies the Experiential Education/Professional Skills Requirement.
This course is a broad overview of the US Bankruptcy Code and Rules, including the history and philosophy of bankruptcy law, focusing on business bankruptcy under Chapters 7 and 11. The course deals extensively with the rights and obligations of debtors and creditors, including secured and priority creditors. In addition, the course addresses the mechanics of filing, administration, and dispute resolution in Bankruptcy Court, including strategic planning for both debtors and creditors. Major conceptual analysis will include the automatic stay, claims, the estate, discharge and its limits, avoidable transfers, executor contracts, and related topics. Jurisdiction and appellate procedures may also be covered. This course may be offered every other year.
This seminar focuses on the evolving legal framework for holding businesses to account for activities that negatively impact human rights. The course is largely structured around the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) which were approved by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011. The UNGPs have created an evolving normative framework that aims to prevent and remedy human rights abuses committed by companies and has become an important area of legal compliance work. The seminar is designed to provide students with a general overview of the general framework established by the UNGPs and will include coverage of: the international human rights legal regime; the development of international, domestic and voluntary corporate initiatives designed to bring corporations in line with human rights norms; the best practices for corporations to incorporate measures to assure respect of human rights; the potential liability of corporations for alleged violations of international human rights law; and the available judicial and nonjudicial remedies for vindicating violations of these rights. The course focuses on both the legal, practical, and political challenges that all stakeholders face in this new area of emerging international law while building the skills needed by a professional in this field. This course may be offered every other year.
The world of immigration in practice can be divided into family, court, and business immigration. Business immigration addresses both temporary and long-term solutions for individuals who need permission to remain in the United States where the purpose is related to an employment opportunity, one’s professional accomplishments, or investment opportunities. Business Immigration will offer detailed information regarding business immigration law and practice, with a focus on current practice and procedures in the administrative law system of the federal agencies regulating immigration. During each class, students will put their knowledge into practice by working through increasingly complex problems designed to orient them around business immigration issues and problems. Additionally, students will be assigned a short research project of immigration requirements of other countries which serve as the basis of a discussion of US immigration in the context of a global market. Students should come away with a working knowledge of representing employers and employees in Business Immigration law.
Examines the similarities and differences among various types of business organizations (sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies). Important issues studied include organization and formation requirements; roles, responsibilities, and potential liabilities of persons acting on behalf of the business organization and/or owning the business organization; the procedures and most frequent grounds for litigation involving business organizations; corporate social responsibility; and a brief introduction to the law of securities regulation and corporate control.
This capstone course focuses on typical issues lawyers face in representing closely-held and private businesses. These issues track the life cycle of the business from formation through operation and growth and ending with an exit from the business. The approach of the course integrates issues from substantive corporation law, partnership law and limited liability company (LLC) law with federal business income tax and federal securities law issues. Specific issues addressed include: choice of entity; determining governance structure; financing the business; compensating the owners and manager; operating and growing the business; exit strategies including selling the business, merging the business, or going public. Additional topics include practical and ethical issues involving who the lawyer represents, distinguishing legal issues from business issues and alternatives to traditional hourly billing. This course may be offered every other year.
The Business Practice credit provides an opportunity for students to gain practical legal experience in a setting outside the law school; it is an externship credit for students interested in business law. Each student works in an appropriate placement that has been approved by a faculty member who teaches a related subject and the Clinical Director. Students spend an average of five hours per week, totaling a minimum of 65 hours per semester, assisting attorneys in handling matters involving various areas of business law. Because of the differing types of work in these placements, the number of hours of field work may vary somewhat from week to week, as determined by the student, the faculty member, and the field supervisor. Students will submit weekly journals, describing and reflecting on their experiences in the field, and will meet periodically with their faculty advisor to explore the relationship between the principles covered in the substantive class and the students’ fieldwork. Prerequisites/corequisites are various business law courses, based on the subject matter of the fieldwork.
This course studies relief for individual debtors under Chapter 7 (liquidation) and Chapter 13 (rehabilitation). Topics covered include prebankruptcy planning; the means test; eligibility; property of the estate; the automatic stay; exemptions; lien avoidance; nondischargeable debts, including domestic support and other marital obligations; jurisdiction issues in concurrent divorce and bankruptcy proceedings; reaffirmation and redemption rights; the trustee’s avoiding powers; avoidance actions; Chapter 13 plans; and the bankruptcy discharge. This course may be offered every other year.
This course will focus on a series of realistic commercial transactions, with particular attention to the incorporation of the business terms into various agreements, as well as a review of how the standard key legal provisions and concepts interact within an agreement. Students will consider how business terms affect the legal provisions in an agreement and how precise drafting can convey the deal terms as intended. Students will analyze term sheets and letters of intent from a corporate, real estate, or other deal-making context for purposes of incorporating deal terms into transactional agreements, which may include asset, stock or purchase and sale agreements; assumption and assignment agreements; employment agreements; shareholder agreements; leases; operating agreements; loan agreements; escrow agreements; settlement agreements; closing agreements, and the like. Students may work in groups and draft documents based upon real transactions. Additionally, students will be exposed to the types of drafting assignments that a law firm setting might provide or require.
This course focuses on the role of counsel to business organizations. This role may be filled either by an attorney employed by the organization (in-house counsel) or through a law firm (outside counsel). Corporate counsel’s work is largely driven by the overarching principal of risk management. Accordingly, the course will focus on the interaction of risk management with legal analysis in the areas of governance and compliance. Course coverage in the area of governance will include issues involving shareholders, board of directors, and executives. Specific issues may include shareholder proposals and “say on pay” voting, as well as the roles of the Board chair, independent directors, and crucial committees (Audit, Risk, Compliance, Governance and Nominating, and Compensation). Course coverage in the area of corporate compliance will broadly cover the history and connection to the increase in scope and complexity of regulation. The coverage will turn to corporate counsel’s role in major aspects of corporate compliance: internal investigations, regulatory matters, and criminal matters. The course will also discuss the various roles played by corporate counsel in governance and compliance and various ethical dilemmas that arise frequently, such as the business organization as client, attorney-client privilege in corporate investigations, confidentiality, and work product protection. Grading will be based on projects assigned during the semester and a final project due at the end of the semester.
This course is a hybrid covering topics from both a financial and legal perspective. In this way, students can learn the skills to become effective business/law advisors. This course examines the different components of a corporation’s capital structure: senior debt, subordinated debt, convertible securities, preferred stock, and common stock. The course introduces basic accounting and business corporate finance principles to enable students to calculate the value of a corporation as a going concern and in liquidation. Students also learn to calculate the value of a corporation’s debt, equity and hybrid securities and to calculate the change in that value from different corporate strategies. Students learn how to challenge the assumptions behind adversaries’ calculations of value. Building on these finance skills, the course adds a legal framework by examining the competing rights of holders in different levels of the capital structure, the corporate issuer’s various obligations to these holders, and how the different holders may protect their interests under adverse circumstances and during bankruptcies and mergers and acquisitions. In this way, the course encourages students to learn how to advise clients by combining the practical financial skills with an appreciation of the legal policy and reasons underlying courts’ decisions. This course may be offered every other year.
This course deals with the employer/employee relationship when the employee is not represented by a labor union, but rather seeks protection under state or federal legislation. Among the topics are legal restraints on employer screening of employees, wage and hour legislation, occupational health and safety legislation, restrictions on employee discharge, employment discrimination, retirement, and other employee workplace rights and protections. This course may be offered every other year.
This course will examine the role of compliance within the financial sector, specifically focusing on the investment management industry. Emphasis will be given to the delicate balancing act of responding to business needs while acting as an interpreter and enforcer of rules, regulations, and industry best practice. Students will work to define the role of compliance, build a successful compliance program, and appropriately navigate the key relationships and inherent tensions existing between internal and external business partners, legal counsel, and regulatory agencies. At the end of the course, students should have a clear understanding of the scope of compliance and the role of a compliance officer in the financial sector and be able to navigate common issues inherent in the role, such as maintaining independence while being a good business partner, handling regulatory exams, and integrating regulations into the business. The course will employ a real-world, hands-on approach through a variety of small projects and discussions leading up to a final written work and presentation. Familiarity with the financial industry or previous course work such as Securities Regulation is recommended but not required. An overview of the industry, applicable regulations, and key players will be covered at the start of the course.
Covers contemporary insurance issues in property, liability, automobile, health, and life insurance. These areas are studied in the context of disputes, such as coverage for pollution, discrimination, or sexual abuse. Emphasis is given to rules of policy interpretation and applicability of public policy. Background issues are incorporated into the course and include fraud, extracontractual damages, the duty to defend, conflict of interests, and the role of legislatures and regulators. The purpose of the course is to familiarize the student with traditional insurance principles, theories of insurance law, and the approaches to insurance issues that underlie tort and statutory remedies. This course may be offered every other year.
The trade law of the United States, including treaties, and some law of foreign countries will be examined from the perspective of an American lawyer. Transactions examined include transnational sales licensing and other business arrangements, such as financing and insurance. Potential clients from whose perspectives the alternatives are explored include the US firm doing business abroad, the US firm seeking government assistance in protecting it from unfair foreign competition, the foreign firm doing business in the United States, and state and local governments seeking to buy foreign products, forbid the purchase of foreign products, or promote exports. Treaties and local law designed to protect special interests or to promote competition in an increasingly global market, such as the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), the European Union (EC, Common Market), and the World Trade Organization (WTO, GATT), as well as other trade arrangements concerning the so-called Third World and the Pacific Rim, are used to demonstrate the critical role of law in structuring international trade. This is an increasingly important and fast-changing field, with ample scope for individual research papers.
This course will examine nonprofit organizations and the sector in which they operate. The course will focus on the legal framework governing the operation of the nonprofit organizations, including issues of choice of form, governing bodies, and regulation of solicitations. The course also will survey the basic federal income and state property tax issues relevant to operation of the nonprofit organization. These issues include qualification for tax exemption, filing requirements, engaging in commercial activities, and the distinction between public charities and private foundations. This course may be offered every other year.
An analysis of the various means for assessing responsibility for damages arising from products sold in commerce. Among the topics covered are theories of liability, including negligence, misrepresentation, warranty, and strict liability; the concept of defectiveness; and special types of defendants. Liability is analyzed under both common law and statutes. This course may be offered every other year.
This course offers an introduction to federal securities laws, primarily covering the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as the rules and regulations enacted thereunder. With a focus on SEC and criminal investigation and enforcement, topics include the definition of “security,” the concept of materiality, antifraud liability (such as insider trading), and the duties of industry participants in securities transactions. Although there are no prerequisites for this course, it is designed for students interested in securities litigation and not merely for the general corporate transactional practice.
This course covers the federal tax treatment of the four main business entity forms. Students will study and learn the tax provisions and tax principles that provide for double tax treatment of C corporations and single-level tax treatment of S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies. Emphasis will be on issues related to the formation, operation, and liquidation of those business entities. This course is intended for students with an interest in a business law practice, for students who have a strong interest in tax law, as well as for students who are interested in specializing in tax law.
Devoted mainly to the sale of goods under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Major topics include the scope of Article 2, formation and modification of contracts for the sale of goods, implied terms, warranties, risk allocation, excuses for nonperformance, and remedies in the event of breach. Each student is expected to acquire a mastery of the guiding principles contained in Article 2. Because Article 2 covers sales to consumers, as well as commercial sales, the course includes an excursion into the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and product liability. Material covered in the basic course on Contracts is reviewed to a limited extent to highlight the changes made by the adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code. The subject matter of this course is heavily tested on bar examinations. Knowledge of the law of Sales is very helpful for lawyers advising on commercial transactions or engaged in commercial litigation. When offered as a distance learning course, there will be required weekly readings from the casebook, regular mini-lectures on prerecorded video, discussion forums to which students must make posts each week, and weekly assessments, including quizzes. All course material other than the casebook will be accessible by any computing device through an Internet connection. The course will be asynchronous, but in addition to posing questions and providing guidance on the discussion boards and through the video lectures, the professor will be available throughout the course by e-mail. Grading will be based on participation in the forums (including a qualitative component), performance on quizzes, and a final “open-book” examination.
Uniform Commercial Code discusses in detail the creation and perfection of security interests in tangible and intangible personal property under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Special attention is given to the need for, and the advantages of, secured credit and to the complex patterns of secured financing that have evolved to facilitate the flow of goods in commerce. The relative priorities of parties with security interests in the same collateral, the rights and obligations of secured creditors in event of default, and the relationship between Article 9 and the federal Bankruptcy Code also are considered.
This course provides an introduction to federal white collar criminal and civil practice. The course begins with a review of general principles such as corporate criminal liability, mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, and relevant provisions of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. DOJ and SEC policies encouraging voluntary disclosure, cooperation, and remediation in white collar investigations will be examined, followed by consideration of issues affecting federal grand jury practice including Fifth Amendment protections and immunity; corporate internal investigations; and Sixth Amendment protections related to the attorney-client privilege, the crime-fraud exception, and joint defense. Finally, the course will examine selected laws governing the prosecution of health care and securities fraud, foreign corrupt practices, and other areas such as cybercrime and research integrity, as time permits. Grades will be based on class participation, a mid-term exam, and a final exam. This course may be offered every other year.
Stories of Success
“Choosing a law school with a part-time program enabled me to pursue my dream of becoming an attorney and provided the flexibility to build my Résumé through full-time internships, clinics, and employment.”
Christopher Hughes, Graduate
“I was able to experience what life is really like as counsel for an international corporation.”
Katie Milligan, Graduate
“Our graduates stay, grow their careers, and help build our communities. We’re woven into the fabric of New England.”
Karyn Polito, Graduate
“There are hundreds of law schools to choose from, but very few of them leave the impression New England Law does on its students.”
Czara Venegas, Graduate
Put What You Learn into Practice
Business and Intellectual Property Law Clinic
Understand the practice of business and/or intellectual property law from the inside. In this clinic, you’ll spend up to 15 hours per week in the field, working in a government agency, private law firm, nonprofit organization, a business’s legal department, or another compliance-related position.
Business Practice Credit
If you’re interested in business law, consider this option. For an average of five hours each week (or at least 65 hours per semester), you’ll assist attorneys in handling matters in various areas of business law. Your specific duties and hours may vary depending on your placement, which aligns with your career goals.
Moot Court/Mock Trial Participation
Sharpen your research, presentation, and litigation skills—and demonstrate those skills to potential employers—as a member of a moot court/mock trial team. Coached by faculty members, these teams compete at such events as the National Tax Moot Court Competition and the Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition in intellectual property law.
Summer Fellowship Program
Work alongside practicing attorneys in law firms, corporations, or government agencies after your first year (second year for part‑time students). Receive a $4,500 stipend and make valuable professional connections as you spend eight to 10 weeks gaining experience drafting legal documents, managing case files, conducting research, and attending client meetings and court proceedings.
Pro Bono
Working on pro bono projects through our
Center for Business Law
or
Business Law Society
is a rewarding way to build practical legal skills—and discover where your legal passions lie. You’ll serve clients in need, gain valuable hands-on experience, and may earn recognition on your law school transcript. An initiative popular with business students is the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, which provides free tax return preparation assistance to those in need (in conjunction with a national program).
Business Law Advisor
Gary M. Bishop
JD Boston College Law School
BA Stonehill College
A former law firm associate and clerk at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Professor
Bishop oversees the Legal Research and Writing Program. His research interests include
contract theory and the scope of enforceable obligations.
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