The practice of law is a business as well as a profession; lawyers need to be prepared to deal with both. This seminar will review and analyze business concepts that can be directly applied to the practice of law. Students will be introduced to those core business subjects with the most direct relevance to the legal profession: strategic planning, accounting, information technology, operations, market analysis and organizational structure. These will each be applied to a hypothetical law practice. The course format is organized around a sample business plan; students will write short papers on each of the core business subjects discussed, and the combined papers will form the basis of a business plan for the hypothetical law practice. The subjects will be applied to small, medium and large law firms, as well as to the judiciary, in-house counsel and pro bono legal clinics.
LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.
