Innovative Study
Certificate Program in Law and Business
“To be effective lawyers, students must learn to understand and analyze the legal problems and the business concerns of their clients. Willamette’s specialized business law programs accomplish these dual objectives by fully integrating the study of business into the study of law.”
The Certificate Program in Law and Business provides Willamette law students with a uniquely integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the study of business law. It was designed to meet the professional needs of law students interested in business and corporate law practice. The certificate program offers exposure to a wide range of business law topics and effectively prepares certificate holders to engage in joint problem solving with business clients.
The Certificate Program in Law and Business is recommended to students with a particular interest in representing business clients. The program provides a solid foundation in business organization, finance, securities and tax law. The program also includes an elective component, which permits students to explore a range of related topics, such as intellectual property and antitrust, or to focus more deeply in areas such as mergers and acquisitions, debtor-creditor, real estate, employment law, or international transactions. Participation in the certificate program is open to 40 students.
Students gain familiarity with fundamental business principles and related economic and legal concepts through a special introductory course in law and business. Additionally, two specially designed courses taken with MBA students at Willamette's Atkinson Graduate School of Management apply a unique, integrated approach to business-legal issue identification, analysis and resolution.
The Law and Business Program at Willamette
A long tradition of excellence in business law is a distinguishing hallmark of legal education at Willamette University College of Law, which offers two innovative programs for students interested in business and corporate law practice. Students may elect the Certificate Program in Law and Business, a specialized program of study within the three-year J.D. program, or the Joint Degree Program, which leads to the conferring of both the J.D. and the M.B.A. after four years of study. Both programs are designed to meet the professional needs of law students interested in careers representing business clients - whether large or small, publicly or privately held, domestic or international.
Although Willamette's Law and Business Program offerings are demanding, their rewards are great. Those who apply themselves diligently will be especially well prepared for careers in business law or related fields, enabling them to enjoy the fuller professional experience that comes from engaging in joint problem solving with business clients.
From the Starbucks Coffee Company in Washington state to the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., you will find talented and respected corporate counsels and tax attorneys who were well trained at Willamette.
Targeted, Real-World Training
Willamette law students are trained to respond in innovative ways to the ever-changing needs of business clients in both the private and public sectors - whether the client is a high-tech company seeking legal strategies in protecting intellectual property and technology assets or a coalition of farmers seeking representation on land-use issues.
Entry into the Program
To enter the Certificate Program a student must (1) have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher and (2) apply and be admitted to the Certificate Program. Up to forty (40) students from each class will be selected based on:
- Academic performance in the course Introduction to Business Law;*
- Cumulative GPA;
- Personal statement; and
- Such other considerations as the Program Admission Committee deems appropriate.
* Applications from students who have not yet taken Introduction to Business Law will also be considered.
Program Requirements
Students must successfully complete a total of thirty-four hours in the Certificate Program courses and the writing requirement listed below. To receive the Certificate a student must complete all requirements for the Certificate Program prior to graduation. However, if a Certificate candidate is unable to complete all requirements prior to graduation for good reason shown, the student, upon application to and with the discretionary approval of the Certificate Program Committee, may be permitted to continue post-graduation at the College of Law to complete the Certificate requirements. In all such cases the Certificate requirements must be fully completed within the academic year immediately following graduation.
1L Required Introductory Course (3 hours)
- 115: Introduction to Business Law
2L/3L Required Core Courses (13 hours)
- 202: Business Organizations
- 203: Corporate Finance
- 215: Federal Income Tax
- 360: Business Entities Tax
2L/3L Law Electives (6 hours)
Students select any two of the courses listed below. Concentrations are listed to show possible relationships between courses but students are not required to select courses from the same concentration.
Dispute Resolution
- 239: Labor Arbitration
- 254: Commercial Arbitration
- 609: Negotiation Workshop
Employment
- 205: Labor Law
- 249: Employment Law
- 339: Employment Discrimination
Finance
- 309: Securities Regulation
- 338: Payment Systems
Financial Distress
- 303: Debtor & Creditor
- 337: Secured Transactions
Intellectual Property
- 315: Intellectual Property
- 354: Patent Rights & Enforcement
International Business
- 318: International Business Transactions
- 345: International Tax
Mergers and Acquisitions
- 314: Antitrust Laws
- 349: Mergers and Acquisitions
Real Estate
- 214: Real Estate Transactions
- 346: Real Estate Finance
Tax
- 217: State and Local Tax
- 345: International Tax
2L/3L AGSM Elective (3 hours)
Students select one of the courses listed below. * With permission of instructor.
- AGSM 501: Executive Economics*
- AGSM 504: Finance
- AGSM 534: Management Controls
- AGSM 645: Advanced Management Controls*
- AGSM 670: Management and Operations Review*
2L/3L Business Lawyering (6 hours)
- 379A: Business Lawyering: Policy and Process
- 379B: Business Lawyering: Case Studies
3L Venture Planning (3 hours)
- 392: Venture Capital Planning
3L Writing Requirement (3 hours)
The third-year writing requirement must be completed within the business field. It can be done in connection with either a paper or seminar course (such as Mergers & Acquisitions or White-collar Crime) or in connection with another course with professor approval. A presentation of the paper may also be required.