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

Discussion - 2 units. As a result of the increasingly transnational nature of human and corporate activity, civil litigation in U.S. courts often involves a foreign element—for example, one of the parties may be a foreign national, or the case may involve some conduct that happened outside the United States. Litigation like this raises questions about the limits of a court’s authority (and power) to adjudicate matters that are not purely domestic. In addition, cases with international elements can often be brought in more than one country’s courts.

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.

Skills — 1 unit. This course will introduce students to the practice of conscious lawyering, including concepts in professional and personal identity, self-awareness, focus, emotional intelligence, cultural and personal values, mindfulness, meditation, and mind-body connection. This course will help train students to be mindful and aware while engaging in the practice of law including litigation, negotiations, transactional deals, client management, and day-to-day work in a law practice.

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.

Seminar – 3 units. Climate change is redefining the business and investment community's business norms and transforming traditional corporate law paradigms. This highly interactive seminar will use case studies to explore the current intersection of business law and climate risk. We will discuss and debate the following questions:1) Do corporate boards have a fiduciary duty to oversee climate risk? In all industries or only "high impact" ones? 2) Will the evolution of "green" or sustainable investing minimize or exacerbate the impacts of climate change?

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.