What It Means to Be a Business Lawyer
There’s life to lawyering outside the courtroom. Business lawyers assist their clients in resolving disputes but, more importantly, structure transactions, advise on regulatory issues, write contracts and think ahead, all for the purpose of keeping disputes from arising in the first place.
Their clients range from large established corporations to emerging business ventures and small businesses, and they practice as solos, in small firms, large firms and in-house. They combine expertise in law, business and finance to guide businesses, banks, investment houses, pension and mutual funds, and investment advisers through an increasingly complex compliance and regulatory environment.
Telling the World You Mean ‘Business’
Satisfying the requirements of the (i) Business Law or (ii) Business Law and Financial Services concentrations lets you tell prospective employers you are serious about being a business lawyer. Not only can you take courses in the law school, but if you have enrolled in the concentration, you may also take graduate courses from Suffolk’s Sawyer Business School.
Core and Advanced Curriculum
The concentration includes core courses in corporations and other business entities, securities regulation, federal income tax and transitional skills and contract drafting (and banking law for financial services concentrators). Electives cover accounting for lawyers, antitrust, corporate finance, government contracts, ERISA and myriad other subjects.
Doctrine and Experiential Learning
It’s not just classroom learning. The concentration includes a selection of business practicums or for-credit internships with businesses, financial institutions or regulatory agencies (like the SEC) in the Boston area.