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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Concentrations

The Program of Concentrated Study at the College of Law is designed for students who seek a particular focus during their time at the Law College. A student who wishes to focus on a particular area of the law may work with a faculty member who teaches in the area to develop an individualized Program of Concentrated Study. The purpose of a Program of Concentrated Study is threefold: (1) to recommend those courses a faculty member believes are important for the study and development of skills, values and doctrines in a particular area, (2) to sequence those courses in such a way that students will gain maximum benefit from the skills, values and doctrines the courses teach; and (3) to recognize the achievements of those students completing a Program of Concentrated Study.

The specific requirements for an individualized Program of Concentrated Study are as follows:

  1. An individualized Program of Concentrated Study must be developed by a student in consultation with a sponsoring faculty member and is subject to approval by the Dean and his or her designee. The attached Program of Concentrated Study form must be submitted to the Dean's Office before the student begins course work in the program. The Dean's office will record faculty sponsorship and the particular requirements of the individualized program.
  2. An individualized Program of Concentrated Study must consist of at least fifteen (15) credit hours in no fewer than five upper level courses that have been identified by a faculty member as central to the identified area. While a faculty member establishing a Program of Concentrated Study may require more course work than the five-course, 15 credit hour minimum, and may require sequencing of courses, the scope and contour of any Program of Concentrated Study should be consistent with the goal of assuring that students acquire a broad-based legal education.
  3. A student must declare an intention to complete an individualized Program of Concentrated Study no later than the last day on which students may add a class during the semester beginning the student’s third year. Students are encouraged to declare early to minimize problems caused by course sequencing and availability. 

A student may complete no more than two Programs of Concentrated Study. 

Upon successful completion of a Program of Concentrated Study, a student will receive a Certificate of Concentrated Study. A notation of successful program completion will appear on the student's transcript.

Proposal Form (PDF)

Business Program of Concentrated Study

The Business Program of Concentrated Study at the College of Law is designed for students who seek a focus on the legal aspects of business transactions during their time at the Law College. The Business Program of Concentrated Study has three purposes:

  1. to recommend those courses the faculty believes are important for the student and to encourage students to develop the skills and knowledge of doctrines necessary to be an effective and competent attorney advising clients on business transactions;
  2. to sequence those courses in such a way that students will gain maximum benefit from the skills and doctrines the courses teach; and
  3. to recognize the achievements of those students completing the Business Program of Concentrated Study.

The faculty recognizes that, among other skills, effective and competent business lawyers must have the ability to analyze and work with substantive doctrines in a variety of areas and the ability to bring to their practices the perspectives of different schools of thought and different disciplines. Therefore, the faculty also encourages students participating in the Business Program of Concentrated Study to take a broad sampling of courses that emphasize different areas of the law and the perspectives of different disciplines.

Students are encouraged to declare their intention to participate in the Business Program of Concentrated Study as early as possible, so they can plan their course of studies appropriately.

The College of Law will recognize a student who successfully completes the Business Program of Concentrated Study by making a notation on the student's transcript and by awarding the student with a certificate of recognition at the time of the student's graduation. Completion of the Business Program of Concentrated Study does not certify one as an expert in business law, but merely recognizes that one has completed courses in certain basic areas essential to lawyers advising clients on business transactions.

The Dean's Office shall designate a Program Coordinator to administer the requirements of the Business Program of Concentrated Study. The responsibilities of the Program Coordinator include:

  1. assisting students in completing all Program requirements;
  2. considering and approving requests from individual students to take non-Program courses in fulfillment of Program requirements due to a required or recommended Program course being unavailable; and
  3. carrying out any other responsibilities necessary to administer the Business Program of Concentrated Study.

The Business Program of Concentrated Study is designed for students who seek to develop their understanding of business law doctrine and transactional skills during their time at the College of Law.

Required Courses

In addition to successfully completing the usual requirements for graduation from the College of Law, all students in the Business Program of Concentrated Study shall successfully complete the following courses.

  1. Accounting for Lawyers (2 credit hours) (requirement waived if the student successfully completed at least three semester hours of basic accounting as an undergraduate or graduate student)
  2. Taxation - Individual Income Tax (4 credit hours)
  3. Corporations (3 or 4 credit hours)
  4. Taxation - Corporate (3 credit hours) [Prerequisite: Taxation-Individual Income Tax]
  5. Securities Regulation (3 credit hours) [Prerequisite: Corporations] 
  6. Business Planning (3 credit hours) [Prerequisites: Taxation-Individual Income Tax; Corporations; Taxation-Corporate*] 

The Business Planning course is the culmination of the Business Program of Concentrated Study. It draws on tax law, corporate law, partnership law, securities law, and other related subject areas and provides students with the opportunity to plan hypothetical but realistic business transactions.

Two additional courses are also very important for students advising small business clients: Taxation-Partnership and Estate Planning. They are not required, but they are strongly recommended.

* Students in the Business Program of Concentrated Study must complete Securities Regulation prior to taking Business Planning. Securities Regulation is not ordinarily a prerequisite to Business Planning, but students who take the courses concurrently will not meet the requirements of the Business Program of Concentrated Study. Therefore, students should take Securities Regulation in their second year of law school.

Other Recommended Courses

The best business lawyers are those with a broad background in the law. No single required program can anticipate the many areas a particular lawyer might need to draw upon. We strongly encourage you to take a broad variety of courses, not just those in the business transactions area.

Students participating in the Business Program of Concentrated Study are encouraged to take:

  • Evidence
  • At least one course with an international component
  • At least one Uniform Commercial Code course 

We also recommend:

  • Arbitration
  • Employment Law
  • Estate Planning
  • Estate Planning Problems
  • Wills & Trusts

One or more of the following courses might also be of particular interest to those participating in the Business Program of Concentrated Study:

  • Antitrust and Trade Regulation
  • Banking Law
  • Criminal Law II
  • Insurance Law
  • International Business Transactions
  • Investment Companies and Investment Advisers
  • Labor Law
  • Pension and Employee Benefits
  • Real Estate Transactions
  • Tax Policy Seminar
  • Taxation-Farm & Ranch
  • Taxation-International
  • Taxation-Partnership
  • Unfair Competition