Course Descriptions
800 - M.J. Introduction to Business and Law (2). Open to: M.J. students only. M.J. students take this course during their summer of study to gain an overview of the structure of our legal system. Students are introduced to legal analysis techniques and begin to refine their writing skills. Students will learn how to read and analyze written judicial opinions. This course also provides an overview of the laws that affect businesses day-to-day including ethical business conduct policies, consumer protection, human resources and employment issues, real estate, intellectual property and corporate change and governance. (Chidichimo)801 - M.J. Legal Research and Writing (2). Open to: M.J. students only. This course provides an introduction to legal research methods. Through a series of exercises on relevant topics, students will continue to refine their writing skills. By researching and writing on varied issues, students learn to apply legal research techniques. Students read and analyze legal authority and learn how to apply legal authorities to particular fact situations. Through a series of legal memoranda writing assignments, students develop their analytical and writing skills. Computerized research techniques are included in the course. (Sherwin)
803 - M.J. Business Law Seminar (2). Open to: M.J. Students only. During the second semester M.J. students explore the basics of tort law and contract law as these relate to issues in business. The torts portion of the course will cover substantive law governing compensation for injuries to property and to the person. Considered are intentional wrongs, negligence, malpractice, products liability and strict liability; invasions of personal integrity and emotional well-being. The contracts portion of the seminar will include an analysis of the formation, transfer and termination of contract rights and duties, and the legal and equitable remedies available upon breach of contract. (Miller, O'Gallagher)
804 - M.J. Writing Project: Business Law (3). Open to: M.J. students only. Students spend the semester researching and writing their writing project. Classes briefly review research technique and writing style with an emphasis on sharpening legal skills and analysis. Each student completes a paper of publishable quality. In addition, this course focuses on professional development. Students are expected to complete a writing project of substantial depth that explores a specific area of business law and integrates a number of legal subjects covered in the M.J. curriculum. The writing project is completed in close cooperation with a faculty advisor.
805 - Business Basics for Law Students (3). The objective of this course is to teach law students a condensed version of the elements of business practice and theory. It is intended for students with knowledge of the business world. Topics covered include how to read financial statements, accounting basics, fundamentals of marketing, employee motivation, and dealing with various management problems. Also discussed is what it's like to practice corporate law and to be general counsel within an organization. Students should gain an understanding of the problems and issues facing business (and some non-profit) clients they will be advising in the future. (Shein)
806 - New Venture Creation (3). The objective of this course is for law students to learn to integrate the legal and business planning required for any new venture. Students develop a plan for a startup, including the legal work to create the organization, and detailed financing, marketing, staffing and operating plans. Legal problems and business opportunities associated with e-commerce are discussed, as well as ongoing management issues and problems that any business may face. The course utilizes business and legal cases, textbook and handouts. There is no final exam; grades are based on the papers and class participation. Business Basics for Law Students or business experience is recommended. (Shein)
825 - Business Law Center Clinic and Seminar (4). The Business Law Center Clinic (the "Clinic") represents entrepreneurs and community members who, respectively, wish assistance in forming small businesses and not-for-profit corporations in the Chicagoland area. Students typically work with several Clinic clients during the course of a semester, under the supervision of at least one member of the Clinic's faculty. The Clinic also includes a weekly seminar (Tuesdays from 5 to 7 p.m.), which addresses relevant substantive law, ethical issues and pragmatic lawyering skills, such as drafting, negotiating and counseling clients. The work in the Clinic is transactional in nature. The Clinic does not handle litigation matters.
Participation in the Clinic requires both a significant time commitment (a minimum of 6 hours per week, in addition to the time in the seminar), as well as a certain degree of flexibility in the student's schedule. All students are expected to have an initial meeting with their clients and to meet with them thereafter, as needed. In addition, the students are expected to communicate with their clients regularly, efficiently and effectively perform the related transactional work under the supervision of the Clinic's faculty, maintain their client's files in an organized and professional manner, regularly attend the seminar classes and participate in various seminar exercises.
Prerequisites for the course are Business Organizations and Federal Income Tax. Other recommended courses, in order of preference, are Corporate & Partnership Tax, Sales, and Securities Regulation. Class is limited to 10 students and instructor permission is required. (Stone)
For more information on the Business Law Center Clinic, click here.
841 - International Commercial Arbitration and the CISG (3).
(This class is limited to 16 students)
The course uses as a focus the Willem C. Vis International Moot Arbitration Competition. Sponsored by Pace Law School, the Vis Moot is based on a problem governed by the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). In the spring, an oral competition is held in two different venues, Vienna and Hong Kong. Recently, Loyola has been able to send a different team of students to each of the venues. The course includes about three weeks of study of the CISG, as well as approximately three weeks of study of international commercial arbitration, including basic laws and rules, how to draft an arbitration clause, how to choose an arbitrator, and how to participate in an arbitration as an advocate and as an arbitrator.
While the first half of the semester is spent learning about the CISG and arbitration, the second half is spent putting that knowledge into practice. When the problem on which the Moot Competition is based comes on line in October, students work collaboratively to draft Claimants' and Respondents' memoranda. The Claimant's memorandum is due in early December, and the Respondent's memorandum is due in late January. Students also present an oral argument before arbitrators from Chicago law firms, at the offices of the respective law firms. At the end of the semester, a second oral argument is held at the law school, after which students are chosen who will have the opportunity to compete in Vienna and Hong Kong during the spring semester, for an additional two hours of credit.
Through the emphasis on both brief writing and oral arguments, students make significant progress in their skills as advocates, as well as their understanding of dispute resolution in an international context. Their accomplishments have been well recognized in both competitions. More information about the Vis Moot is on the Pace Law School Web Site: www.cisg.law.pace.edu/vis.html.
Eligibility: If a student is part of a moot court team that will be arguing in the fall semester, he or she is not eligible to take this course, since this is a skills-based course requiring substantial out of class effort in both brief writing and oral argument. If a student is part of a moot court team that will be arguing in the spring semester, he or she is eligible to take the course in the fall, but will not be eligible to compete to be an oralist in the Vienna or Hong Kong competition. Corboy Fellows are not permitted to take this course. The course is not open to LLM students, unless they wish to audit.
Important: Permission of the professor is required. In order to apply, please submit a resume and a statement of interest to Professor Moses, mmoses1@luc.edu explaining a little about your background, and why you are interested in taking this course. (Moses)
843 - Legal Aspects of Mergers and Acquisitions (2). This is an interdisciplinary course, which is team-taught by faculty from Loyola?s Graduate School of Business and the School of Law. It will cover mergers and acquisitions from both the business and legal perspectives. From a business perspective, the focus will be on the economic factors which drive these transactions. The law perspective will cover the structure of these transactions, the tax characteristics, the structure of an acquisition contract and the due diligence which is done in connection therewith, defensive tactics, and regulatory aspects from securities, labor and anti-trust law. The course, which will be graded pass/fail, will meet on Saturdays (9 a.m.-noon) and Tuesday evenings (6 p.m.-9 p.m.) from January 11 through March 1. The specific schedule will be published. Attendance for each class period is mandatory. (Johnson et al.)
860 - LL.M. Tax Seminar (2). Open to: LL.M. students only. The purposes of this seminar are to develop federal tax research skills, to refine analytical abilities previously developed in earlier federal tax and other law courses, and to improve the legal writing skills of students nearing graduation. The primary goal is to prepare a manuscript of publishable quality with respect to a particular substantive issue in the federal tax field. Students submit an outline and multiple drafts at designated points during the semester and make a presentation at the end. (Kwall)
861 - LL.M. Tax Research (1). Open to: LL.M. students only. This course is intended for those students interested in sharpening their tax legal research skills. In addition to reviewing basic tax research, the course covers federal legislative history, administrative research, tax looseleaf services, and other specialized tax research sources, using both traditional materials and computerized resources when appropriate such as the online versions of CCH and RIA. The student is expected to complete a series of weekly library exercises. (Johnson)
862 - Corporate and Tax Ethics Seminar (2). Recent corporate and individual scandals have been driven by tax motivated transactions or transactions designed to increase corporate earnings. This course focuses on the ethical problems for corporate and tax lawyers in everyday practice, with analysis of the role of the lawyers in recent scandals such as Enron. (Duhl)
