University of Washington School of Law (2024)

Faculty Advisor

Scott Schumacher

Program Requirements

GENERAL

Follow all of the steps outlined on the Concentration Tracks page.

The LBE Concentration track accommodates the wide range of interest and expertise at UW Law in business law. Because of this range, business law faculty have created a number of recommended pathways, each of which satisfies the Concentration Track. You can find these pathways through the links to the left of this page.

WRITING REQUIREMENT

At least one of the following experiential/drafting courses:

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

All three of the following foundational courses:
- A515 Business Organizations
- A517 Securities Regulations
- E506 Business and Financial Literacy for Law Students OR A516 Accounting for Lawyers
At least three (3) elective courses in any combination from the subject areas below:
Commercial and Real Property Transactions
- A510 Sales
- A511 Payment Systems
- A512 Secured Transactions
- A523 Real Estate Transactions
- A578 International Business Transactions
- E545 International Trade Law
- E546 International Commercial Arbitration
- T504 Property Dispositions and Transactions
Corporate Structure and Governance
- A530 Basic Income Tax
- A536 Securities and Shareholder Litigation
- E514 The Law of Nonprofit Organizations
- T511 Taxation of Partners and Partnerships
- T512 Exempt Organizations
- T525 Advising Privately Owned Businesses
Structural Transactions
- A534 Mergers and Acquisitions
- T530 Corporate Reorganizations and Acquisitions
Employment and Compensation
- A554 Labor Relations and the Law
- A556 Employment Discrimination
- A562 Employment Law
- T521 Compensation and Benefits I
- T522 Compensation and Benefits II
Financial Services and Products
- A583 Insurance Law
- E502 White Collar Crime
- E510 Banking Law
Intellectual Property
- P505 International Intellectual Property Law
- P509 Antitrust and Intellectual Property Rights
- P535 Entertainment Law
- P543 Intellectual Property in East Asia
- P547 Legal Protection of Computer Software
- P548 Litigation Strategies for Protection of Technology
- P552 Strategic Intellectual Property Commercialization
- P567 Intellectual Property Survey
Other Courses
- Other tax, IP, or business related courses as approved by faculty advisor. Each course of this kind must be approved for credit toward the concentration track by a faculty advisor for this concentration track.
- Courses offered by the Foster School of Business, especially ENTRE courses counting towards the Technology Entrepreneurship Certificate program. Each course of this kind must be approved for credit toward the concentration track by a faculty advisor for this concentration track.

Law, Business and Entrepreneurship Learning Outcomes

J.D. students electing to specialize in the Law, Business & EntrepreneurshipConcentration Track should achieve the competencies expected of all J.D. students at the University of Washington. In addition, they should acquire an understanding of the following:

Basic financial literacy concepts. These include:

Financial statement basics and the fundamental concepts, limitations and safeguards related to financial statements
Different ways businesses are characterized and classified
Business plan basics
Common business measures and ratios and how businesses are valued and analyzed
Core time-value-of-money concepts
Basic microeconomics concepts
Different types of business debt
Stock and bond market fundamentals

Corporations, limited liability companies, and the four types of partnerships. This competency includes an understanding of:

The comparative benefits and limitations of such entities
The evolution of socially responsible challenges and options
Basic agency concepts
The statutory framework of such entities and related default rules
Core doctrinal concepts related to such entities
How such entities are formed and the related organizational documents
The duties and potential liabilities of those who manage the entity
Owner liability risks and related precautions
Core business entity taxation concepts

Common legal issues and challenges faced by public companies. These include an understanding of:

The process of going public and related risks and benefits
Capital structure design challenges
Shareholder voting and proxy challenges
Shareholder proposal and inspection rights
Mergers, consolidations and share exchanges
Shareholder derivative litigation rights
Executive compensation basics and say-on-pay rights
Public disclosure duties and related liability risks
Insider trading risks
Legal standards applicable to transactions with controlling shareholders
Strategies and legal issues applicable to a fight for control of a public corporation

Common legal issues and challenges of closely held business enterprises. These include an understanding of:

Choice-of-entity factors in selecting the best entity form
Identifying and resolving owner operational issues
Protecting rights of minority owners
Funding challenges and related securities law compliance
Majority shareholder oppression risks
Owner exit challenges and options
The process and structural options for buying or selling a business

Common business-related ethical challenges. Examples include:

The importance of identifying the real client
Dual representation of an entity and an owner
General duties owned to business owners and former clients
Lawyer serving as a corporate officer or director
Lawyer investing with a client