Concentration in Business and Tax Law

Notre Dame Law School offers a concentration in Business and Tax Law for students pursuing the LL.M. at Notre Dame. Enriched by Notre Dame’s breadth of faculty expertise in business and tax law and supported by the Program of Study in Business Law, this area of concentration recognizes that students have completed a course of study focused on corporate law, tax law, and commercial law.

Practicalities and Deadlines

Students should communicate their interest in following this concentration as part of their application to the LL.M. program. At the start of the fall semester, enrolled students should meet with Professor Lloyd Mayer of the Program of Study in Business Law to discuss their interest and their course selections.

Requirements

Applicants may apply for either an introductory or advanced program of study. The introductory track, outlined in Section A below, is intended for international students (i.e., those who do not have a J.D. from an American law school). The advanced track, outlined in Section B below, is intended for domestic students (i.e., those who have a J.D. from an American law school) who wish to enhance their general education in business law and/or engage in specialized study of business and tax law. No student in either track may take classes that are the same or substantially similar to courses taken in their J.D. or equivalent first degree.

A student must have earned the required number of credits in business and tax law courses and have satisfied the writing requirements.

Please note that requirements to sit for the bar exam differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Pursuing this concentration may not allow a student to enroll in the credits necessary to sit for a bar exam in a jurisdiction in the United States. Students are encouraged to evaluate how the requirements to sit for a bar in the United States fit with this concentration’s requirements in consultation with the Career Development Office, and to evaluate their course of study in this concentration in that light with the Office of International & Graduate Programs (globalaw@nd.edu) as soon as possible after beginning the LL.M. at Notre Dame.

A. Introductory Track (International Students)

Students must complete at least 16 credit hours of courses in business law and tax law as detailed below, in addition to the two required courses for international students, Introduction to American Legal System and LL.M. Legal Research and Writing.

1. Complete a minimum of 7 credits by completing the following core courses

Business Associations [4 credits]
Federal Income Taxation [3 credits]

2. Complete a minimum of 8 credits by completing the following core courses

Advanced Topics in Corporate Law [3 credits]
Antitrust Law [3 credits] or Global Antitrust Law [3 credits]
Banking Law and Financial Institutions [2 credits]
Bankruptcy [3 credits]
Business and Human Rights [2 credits]
Business Basics for Attorneys [3 credits]
Business on the Frontlines [6 credits]
Corporate Finance [3 credits]
Commercial Law – Sales [2 credits]
Commercial Real Estate Development & Finance [2 credits]
Corporate Compliance and Ethics [2 or 3 credits]
Corporate Reorganizations [2 credits]
Corporate Counsel Externship [offered every semester]
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act [2 credits]
International Business Transactions [3 credits]
International Arbitration [3 credits]
International Taxation [3 credits]
Investment Management Law
Law of International Trade
Law and Economics Seminar [2 credits]
Law and the Entrepreneur [2 credits]
Mergers & Acquisitions [3 credits]
Mutual Fund Regulation [2 credits]
Negotiations [3 credits]
Not-for-Profit Organizations [3 credits]
Payment Systems [2 credits]
Professional Responsibility [3 credits] or Remedies [3 credits]
Securities Regulation [3 credits]
Secured Transactions [3 credits]
Seminar: Corporate Governance
Taxation of Business Enterprises [3 credits]
Trade Secrets and Unfair Practices [3 credits]
Transactional Law Intensive [3 credits]
Tax Policy Seminar [2 credits]
Tax Clinic [up to 5 credits] [offered every semester]
Venture Capital Finance & IPOs [2 credits]

3. Satisfy a writing requirement by completing a substantial research paper of at least 10,000 words (including text and footnotes) on a topic in business or tax law. The writing requirement may be satisfied in conjunction with a course or as a 2-credit Directed Reading, which would be in addition to the 8 credit hour minimum detailed in Section 2 above.

B. Advanced Track (Domestic Students)

Students must complete at least 16 credit hours of courses as detailed below. Again, please note that students may not take for-credit courses that are the same or substantially similar to those completed in their J.D. degree.

1. Complete a minimum of 8 credits from the following core courses

Accounting for Lawyers [3 credits]
Federal Income Taxation [4 credits]
Commercial Law- Sales [2 credits]
Payment Systems [2 credits]
Secured Transactions [3 credits]
Seminar: Corporate Governance [3 credits]
Taxation of Business Enterprises [3 credits]

2. Complete a minimum of 8 credits from the following courses

Advanced Topics in Corporate Law [3 credits]
Antitrust Law [3 credits] or Global Antitrust Law [3 credits]
Banking Law and Financial Institutions [2 credits]
Bankruptcy [3 credits]
Business and Human Rights [2 credits]
Business Basics for Attorneys [3 credits]
Business on the Frontlines [6 credits]
Corporate Finance [3 credits]
Commercial Law – Sales [2 credits]
Commercial Real Estate Development & Finance [2 credits]
Corporate Compliance and Ethics [2 or 3 credits]
Corporate Reorganizations [2 credits]
Corporate Counsel Externship [offered every semester]
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act [2 credits]
International Business Transactions [3 credits]
International Arbitration [3 credits]
International Taxation [3 credits]
Investment Management Law
Law of International Trade
Law and Economics Seminar [2 credits]
Law and the Entrepreneur [2 credits]
Mergers & Acquisitions [3 credits]
Mutual Fund Regulation [2 credits]
Negotiations [3 credits]
Not-for-Profit Organizations [3 credits]
Payment Systems [2 credits]
Remedies [3 credits]
Securities Regulation [3 credits]
Secured Transactions [3 credits]
Taxation of Business Enterprises [3 credits]
Trade Secrets and Unfair Practices [3 credits]
Transactional Law Intensive [3 credits]
Tax Policy Seminar [2 credits]
Tax Clinic [up to 5 credits] [offered every semester]
Venture Capital Finance & IPOs [2 credits]

3. Write a 3-credit LL.M. thesis — normally, of 50-75 double-spaced pages — under the direction of a faculty member from the Program of Study in Business Law.