Business Law

Discussion – 1 unit. This course examines the complex intersection of law, politics, and governance through real-world case studies that illuminate how public policy is actually made, implemented, and enforced in California and beyond. Students will explore the practical challenges facing public leaders, from the multi-decade evolution of regional planning under SB 375 to the ongoing struggles with mental health system implementation, discovering that effective governance requires far more than simply writing good laws.

Seminar – 2 units. This seminar will focus on cutting-edge research in law and economics and empirical legal studies. Over the course of the semester, we will host five workshops during which a leading scholar will present a research paper. Potential paper topics include civil procedure, contract law and business economics, criminal law and procedure, torts law, and social policy. We will spend two weeks at the beginning overviewing law and economics and empirical studies.

Final Assessment: Multiple Response Papers

Skills – 2 units. This seminar will introduce students to the theory and practice of negotiation, mediation, and other forms of consensual dispute resolution, with a special emphasis on cross-cultural negotiation and mediation related to international business transactions. Theoretical content will be provided through course readings, occasional lectures, and guest presentations from non-U.S. lawyers, mediators, and business professionals. But a primary focus of the class will be simulated negotiation and mediation exercises in small groups.

Discussion — 2 units. This is an introductory course into the role of governance, risk management and compliance in business organizations. It will provide a foundational understanding of this increasingly growing and complex area, and of the common legal and regulatory frameworks underpinning effective corporate risk and compliance programs.

Discussion — 1 unit. This course is designed to give students an introduction to the tools and research strategies needed for the practice of transactional law. Students will learn the methods, databases, and specialized materials available for transactional law research. Topics include company research and industry data, corporate formation and organization, SEC filings, regulatory research, contract drafting tools, precedent documents, and specialized practice tools.

Seminar — 2 units. As both an area of academic inquiry and legal practice, business law routinely undergoes rapid evolution and change. That dynamism has seen punctuated acceleration in recent years. Many of the fundamental precepts of business law have been critically interrogated, questioned, and litigated. This seminar seeks to expose students to these recent development in business law with a focus on modern issues in corporate law, securities, and antitrust.

Seminar – 3 units. The course will cover the fundamentals of the corporate governance theory, discussing the most important topics on a worldwide perspective focusing on the 2023 version of the “G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance”. We will discuss the challenges in the implementation of such principles depending on the characteristics of the region and other relevant factors. In this sense, students will assess some cases of countries where these difficulties are higher than others, as well as examples of good practices that have been implemented with success.

Seminar – 3 units. An increasingly popular trend in legal scholarship is the use of quantitative data to inform legal theories and socio-political debates. Indeed, it is rare today to come across a law review article or Supreme Court opinion that does not reference or rely upon some analysis of data to make a legal argument. Therefore, being able to be a critical consumer of empirical legal analysis is a skill that every lawyer should have. In this class, you will learn to be *both* a critical consumer and producer of empirical legal scholarship.

Lecture — 2 or 3 units. Society’s expectations of companies are changing and companies are responding. Many companies go beyond compliance with the law to address environmental and social issues, from climate change to diversity. This new articulation of corporate purpose raises complex legal, ethical, and business questions. This class uses the case study method to examine this paradigm shift in the business and investment community. Each week we will analyze a particular company or business trend.

Lecture — 4 units. This class is an introduction to the federal income taxation of business entities including corporations and partnerships. This course will examine the federal income tax relationship between corporations and their owners and will cover the transfer of funds into a corporation on formation and the re-transfer of money and property from the corporation to its shareholders.