Business Enterprise

Overview

The business enterprise concentration offers a set of coordinated courses that provide a strong background in business-related law. Students in the concentration take five basic business enterprise courses, a research requirement, and a third-year Practical Issues in Business Law seminar. They then create their own business-related curriculum from a list of offered electives.

The concentration recognizes that students who focus on corporate law will still have widely disparate interests. Some will be interested in corporate and commercial litigation; others will target a career in transactional tax and financial work; and a few may develop an academic interest in corporate law and related fields. Students can refine the concentration to focus on specific areas. Moreover, it may be combined with other concentrations or programs offered by the Law School or the University.

Concentration Requirements
Concentration Checklist (pdf)

Program Director: Stephen F. Reed

Donald Pritzker Entrepreneurship Law Center

Students concentrating in business enterprise who are interested in gaining hands-on experience representing clients in a business situation may also participate in the Donald Pritzker Entrepreneurship Law Center. This center, which includes students from the Kellogg School of Management, involves providing legal assistance to entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and not-for-profit organizations of all types, including day-care center providers, software developers, graphic designers, and consultants.

Typical Student Course Selection

Students are encouraged to consult the Program Director or an experience faculty member in the field for guidance on constructing a curriculum to satisfy the concentration requirements.  The following illustrates a possible course progression for a student in the Business Enterprise concentration:

First Year

First year students are encouraged to choose Business Associations as one of their Spring elective courses. 

Second Year

  • Basic Federal Income Taxation
  • Securities Regulation
  • Corporate Tax (JD/Gen.LLM) or Partnership Tax (JD/Gen.LLM)
  • 3-4x Business Enterprise Electives
  • 2x General Electives

Third Year

  • Research Requirement
  • 2-3x Business Enterprise Electives
  • 4x General Electives
  • Practical Issues in Business Law (Spring only)