Business Law Courses. The course offerings in business law at Yale are wide-ranging and interdisciplinary. For students considering pursuing careers in business law, whether in transactional work or litigation, an online survey (the “Survey”) that the Center conducted in 2020 indicated that practitioners at major law firms found Business Organizations and Securities Regulation foundational. Survey results also suggested that, in addition to developing familiarity with the institutional landscape covered in core substantive law courses, students should seek to master the analytical frameworks surrounding negotiation theory and practice, corporate finance, and financial accounting and financial statement analysis. Finally, students who are interested in litigation may wish to note that Survey respondents identifying as Litigation partners emphasized the importance of statistics and other quantitative analytical methods more than those of lessor seniority within Litigation and those in other practices. Of course, the Survey drew from a narrow pool of respondents (i.e., 218 across 24 firms) and there are therefore limits on the degree to which Survey results can be generalized. However, Survey results do broadly accord with the findings of a prior online survey conducted by Harvard Law School in 2013, as well as prior observations on the transformative effects of the incorporation of finance and microeconomics into corporate law scholarship and practice. See After the Revolution in Corporate Law by Center Director Roberta Romano in The Journal of Legal Education. 

The Law School offers workshops in negotiation theory and practice on a recurring basis. For more information, please contact the Tsai Leadership Program at Yale Law School. The Law School also offers courses in financial accounting and corporate finance on a regular basis. Additionally, students can enroll in Basics of Accounting (MGMT 402) or Corporate Finance (MGMT 541) at Yale School of Management. Students interested in statistics and quantitative analysis may wish to consider taking Introduction to Data Analysis and Econometrics (ECON 117), Introduction to Statistics: Political Science (S&DS 102), or Introduction to Statistics: Social Sciences (S&DS 103), all at Yale College. Students interested in a grounding in microeconomics may wish to explore Introductory Microeconomics (ECON 115) or Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 121), both at Yale College.

For more information on course selection and Survey results, please attend the presentation on How to Craft a Career in Corporate Law: Foundations for Transaction Lawyering, Litigation, Business and Academic Careers in Fall 2023. 

For more detail on the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 courses listed below, please see YLS: Courses.  

Fall 2023

Advanced Community and Economic Development Clinic: Fieldwork.  2 or 3 units (graded).  A.S. Lemar and C.F. Muckenfuss III.  [Experiential Requirement].

Advanced Community and Economic Development Clinic: Seminar.  1 unit (credit/fail).  A.S. Lemar and J. Gentes.  [Experiential Requirement] [Professional Responsibility].

Advanced Contracts: Seminar.  2 or 3 units.  A. Chua.

Advanced Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic: Fieldwork.  2 to 3 units (graded).  S. Riethmueller.  [Experiential Requirement].

Advanced Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic: Seminar.  1 unit (graded).  S. Riethmueller. [Experiential Requirement].

Antitrust.  4 units.  A.K. Klevorick.

Antitrust: Directed Research.  2 to 4 units.  A.K. Klevorick.

Antitrust: Directed Research.  3 or 4 units.  G. L. Priest.

Applied Corporate Finance.  5 units.  R. Romano.

Business Organizations.  4 units.  J.R. Macey.

Community and Economic Development Clinic: Fieldwork.  2 units (graded).  A.S. Lemar and C.F. Muckenfuss III.  [Experiential Requirement].  Taken in conjunction with the Housing and Community Development: Seminar.

Corporate Finance.  3 units.  N. Sarin. 

Corporate Taxation.  3 units.  N. Cunningham.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic: Fieldwork.  2 units (graded).  S. Riethmueller.  [Experiential Requirement].

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic: Seminar.  2 units (graded).  S. Riethmueller. [Experiential Requirement].

Entrepreneurship through Acquisition: Purchasing and Operating Small Businesses.  3 units.  A.J. Wasserstein.

Federal Income Taxation.  4 units.  R. D’Avino.

Financial Markets and Corporate Law Clinic.  3 units.  J.R. Macey, G. Fleming, and B.L. Beirne.  [Experiential Requirement].  

History and Theory of Secured Transactions: Seminar.  1 unit.  G.E. Brunstad, Jr.

Housing and Community Development: Seminar.  2 units (graded).  A.S. Lemar and J. Gentes.  [Experiential Requirement].  Taken in conjunction with the Community and Economic Development Clinic: Fieldwork.  

Internal Investigations.  3 units.  D. Zornow and N. Kestenbaum.

Intellectual Property: Working with Patents and Trade Secrets.  2 units.  V. Cundiff.

Interpersonal and Group Dynamics.  3 units.  H. Brooks.  [Experiential Requirement].

Law, Economics, and Organization.  1 unit (credit/fail).  I. Ayres.

Robber Barons Reconsidered.  3 units.  G.L. Priest.

Secured Transactions.  3 units.  G.E. Brunstad, Jr.

Think Like a (Start-up) Founder.  3 units.  G. Stewart.

Twenty-first Century Tax Policy Challenges for the U.S.  2 or 3 units.  M.J. Graetz. 

Spring 2024

Advanced Community and Economic Development Clinic: Fieldwork.  2 or 3 units (graded).  A.S. Lemar and C.F. Muckenfuss III.  [Experiential Requirement].

Advanced Deals Workshop: Public Company Mergers and Acquisitions.  3 units.  I. Kirman.  [Experiential Requirement].

Advanced Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic: Fieldwork.  2 to 3 units (graded).  S. Riethmueller.  [Experiential Requirement].

Advanced Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic: Seminar.  1 unit (graded).  S. Riethmueller.  [Experiential Requirement].

Agents and Fiduciaries: Economics and Law. 2 units. R. Brooks

American Economic Policy.  2 units.  N. Sarin.

Antitrust.  4 units.  A.K. Klevorick.

Behavioral Law and Economics and Legal Policy.  2 to 4 units.  C. Jolls.

Business Organizations.  5 units.  R. Romano.

Business Organizations.  4 units.  J.D. Morley.

Community and Economic Development Clinic: Fieldwork.  2 units (graded).  A.S. Lemar and C.F. Muckenfuss III.  [Experiential Requirement].  Taken in conjunction with the Housing and Community Development: Seminar.

Competition Economics and Policy. 3 units. F. S. Morton.

Corporate Environmental Management and Strategy.  3 units.  D. Esty.

Corporate Finance in Modern Society.  3 units.  K. Shue. 

Corporate Litigation Seminar.  2 or 3 units.  K.S. Schwartz.  [Professional Responsibility].  

Critical Role of the General Counsel.  2 units.  P. Gentin and J. Schwartz. 

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic:  Fieldwork.  2 units (graded).  S. Riethmueller.  [Experiential Requirement].

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic:  Seminar.  2 units (graded).  S. Riethmueller.  [Experiential Requirement].    

Everyday Leadership. 3 units. H. Brooks. 

Federal Income Taxation.  4 or 5 units.  A. Alstott.

Financial Accounting.  3 units.  R. Antle.

Housing and Community Development: Seminar.  2 units (graded).  A.S. Lemar and J. Gentes.  [Experiential Requirement].  Taken in conjunction with the Community and Economic Development Clinic: Fieldwork.  

International Business Transactions.  4 units.  A. Chua.

International Capital Markets: Law and Institutions.  3 units.  C. Jordan.

International Trade Law and Policy: Seminar.  3 units.  D. Esty.

Issues in Financial Regulation: Focus on Financial Technology.  2 units.  S. Omarova.

Law and Macroeconomics: Seminar.  2 units.  Y. Listokin.  

Law and Regulation of Banks and Other Financial Intermediaries.  2 or 3 units.  J.R. Macey.

Law, Economics, and Organization.  1 unit (credit/fail).  I. Ayres.

Law of Nonprofit Organizations. 3 units. D. Hemel. 

Negotiating and Drafting Secured Transactions.  2 units.  G.E. Brunstad, Jr.  [Experiential Requirement].

Negotiating Professionally. 3 units (credit/fail). D. Cain. 

Partnership Taxation.  3 units.  N. Cunningham.

Securities Regulation.  3 units.  S. Omarova. 

The Lawyer as Leader.  3 or 4 units.  H. H. Koh and B. Heineman.   

U.S. International Taxation.  3 units.  J.M. Samuels. 

White Collar Criminal Defense: Critical Issues and Strategies.  3 units.  K. Stith and D. Zornow.