Large, multi-jurisdictional law firms face complex issues of regulation and professionalism. Managing and solving those issues require keen analytical, litigation, and transactional drafting skills. This course will offer an opportunity to practice those skills while gaining a background in the law governing lawyers. Students will participate in a two-credit, experiential seminar that can be used for either ethics or experiential credit. 

Students will first gain a background in the ABA Model Rules (and state variants) by analyzing and resolving simulated ethical inquiries that might be received by the general counsel’s office of a large firm. Then, for the bulk of the course, students working in teams will tackle a more complex, multi-issue inquiry that will require deeper research, a simulated internal investigation, a presentation, and a written memorandum. The course will conclude with revising the memorandum in response to feedback and a transactional drafting exercise such as an engagement letter and fee agreement involving client intake issues.

An introduction to federal income taxation, with emphasis on the determination of income subject to taxation, deductions in computing taxable income, the proper time period for reporting income and deductions, and the proper taxpayer on which to impose the tax.

Many attorneys are required to evaluate financial data, notably financial statements from corporations, on a regular basis. The need is not limited to corporate attorneys; indeed litigators in securities, antitrust, malpractice, or general commercial litigation frequently must analyze financial information. This course serves to both introduce basic accounting principles and practices and their relationship to the law, as well as to study a number of contemporary accounting problems relating to financial disclosure and the accountant's professional responsibility. Students with accounting degrees, MBAs or who have taken more than a couple of accounting courses are not permitted to enroll. Also, Business Essentials may not be taken concurrently with this course.

For lawyers in every type of law practice, the ability to negotiate effectively is an essential skill. As a lawyer, you will negotiate when you try to settle a lawsuit, close a merger, or arrange a plea bargain. You will negotiate with counterparts, clients, and co-workers. You will negotiate with service providers and the “system” – the court, the government, or your community. And, you will continue to negotiate with your friends and family. In this highly interactive seminar, we will explore the theories, skills, and ethics involved in legal negotiation. With limited exceptions, in each class you will participate in a role-play simulation of increasing complexity, experiment with new techniques, and then reflect on what negotiation strategies worked best for you. Through this process, you will not only gain insight into your own negotiation style, you will develop the toolkit you need to approach each new negotiation with confidence.

Even without a pandemic, negotiating by electronic means has become a common way of how lawyers do business. This requires lawyers to be versatile and able to negotiate by email, telephone, and videoconference, to evaluate the pros and cons of each, and to select the most appropriate technology (or combination of technologies) given the particular parties and circumstances. Because this course will be offered entirely online, you will get significant practice negotiating by videoconference. You will also have opportunities to negotiate by telephone and email.  By the end of the semester, you will be comfortable negotiating in a digital world.

Because of the nature of the course, the amount of information delivered during the first class period, the importance of participating in the first role-play simulation during the first class period, and the typical waitlists for enrollment in the course, attendance at the first class is absolutely required. A student who fails to attend the first class without prior consent of the instructor will forfeit his or her place in the class. (Working for an additional week in the summer and call-back interviews are not acceptable excuses for missing the first class.) Students who are on the waitlist for the course are encouraged to attend the first class, and those who do will be given preference to fill open slots in the class. There is a shortened drop period for this course so that students who are waitlisted can enroll before the second class occurs. Thus, students may drop this course without permission only before the second class.

Because of the similarities between this course and the negotiation course taught at the Fuqua School of Business, a law student may not receive law school credit for both courses.