LLM in Corporate and Commercial Law

The IU McKinney Masters of Law (LL.M.) program has several missions

• to give currently practicing U.S. lawyers a place to hone their skills and deepen their knowledge base on a specific subject.
• to help licensed lawyers from other countries get to know American law in preparation for passing the Bar in the United States.
• to provide a focused curriculum for legal scholars who are interested in advancing their knowledge in a specific area of law in order to prepare for the S.J.D./Ph.D. in law and an academic career.

LL.M. courses are taught by Judges, Justices, and an Attorney General

Our Master of Laws students come from around the world to study with the best our state has to offer. Courses for the LL.M. program have recently been taught by:

• Justice Steven David, ’82, Indiana Supreme Court
• Justice Robert D. Rucker, Indiana Supreme Court
• Judge John G. Baker, Indiana Court of Appeals (former Chief Judge)
• Greg Zoeller, Indiana Attorney General

As an LL.M. student, you’ll complete a 24-credit program. If you attend on a full-time basis, you can complete your degree in a single year. Foreign students, note that to satisfy visa regulations, you must finish within eighteen months.

However, if you are a domestic student, you have up to three academic years to complete the degree requirements, and can take classes on a part-time or evening basis.

The program includes

• Area-specific coursework with a wide range of elective options
• Externships, clinical courses, or pro bono legal service and optional practical training (OPT) opportunities
• A research component and Master's thesis (optional for the American Law for Foreign Lawyers track)
• Advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction (the law school will provide a 50% scholarship for these courses if required)
• The opportunity to publish your thesis, if in a thesis track, on the ScholarWorks network at Indiana University. This network makes your research available to lawyers and legal scholars worldwide.

Corporate and Commercial Law Track

If you are a law school graduate or lawyer from the U.S. or abroad, the IU McKinney Corporate and Commercial Law LL.M. Track will help you to expand your understanding of U.S. and international corporate and commercial law. You will:

• Gain practical and theoretical knowledge in a variety of areas of corporate and commercial law, such as M&A transactions; secured transactions; corporate and securities law; bankruptcy; and competition law;
• Gain the insights essential to guiding clients through the intricacies of doing business in the United States and in a global and complex international business environment;
• Become equipped to guide governmental regulators and advocacy groups, among others, regarding issues of both domestic and transnational business and investment;
• Develop the skills of legal research, analysis, and communication that are essential to understanding and applying business and commercial law in the U.S. and transnational legal environment;
• Earn a degree that can help you to pursue employment with transnational corporations, commercial law firms, governmental and non-governmental agencies;
• Begin your path to an academic career in institutions in the United States and abroad.

Curriculum

Required courses for international students (6 credits required)

• Contract Law for LL.M. Students (2 credits) or Tort Law for LL.M. Students (2 credits)
• Introduction to the American Legal System (2 credits)
• LL.M. Legal Writing and Analysis I (1 credit)
• Legal Research for LL.M. Students (1 credit)

Recommended courses for international students

• Contract Drafting for LL.M. Students (2 credits)
• LL.M. Legal Writing and Analysis II (1 credit)
• U.S. Constitutional Law for LL.M. Students (2 credits)

Corporate and Commercial Law Courses (12 credits required)

At a minimum, students must select one course in at least two of three sub-specialties below. The remaining CCL credits can be selected from any of the CCL subsets or electives.

Subset A

• Closely Held Business Organizations (3 credits)
• Publicly Traded Corporations (2 credits)

Subset B

• European Union Law (3 credits)
• International Business Transactions (2 or 3 credits)
• International Trade Law (2 credits)

Subset C

• Advanced Sales (2 or 3 credits)
• Payment Systems (2 or 3 credits)
• Secured Transactions (2 or 3 credits)

Elective corporate & commercial law courses

• All Foundational Courses Above
• Accounting for Law Students (2 credits)
• Antitrust Law (3 credits)
• Bankruptcy Law (3 credits)
• Comparative and International Competition Law (2-3 credits)
• Consumer Law (2 credits)
• Corporate Compliance Overview (2 credits)
• Corporate
• Corporate Reorganization and Bankruptcy (2 credits)
• Employment Law (3 credits)
• ERISA Retirement Plans: Formation and Structure (2 credits)
• Income Taxation of Corporations and Pass-Through Entities (2 credits)
• International Commercial Arbitration (2-3 credits)
• Intellectual Property Licensing: Drafting Skills (2-3 credits)
• Intellectual Property Taxation (2-3 credits)
• Intellectual Property Transactions & Licensing (2 credits)
• International Tax (2-3 credits)
• Labor Law (4 credits)
• Law and Economics (3 credits)
• Law of Nonprofit Organizations (2 credits)
• Mergers and Acquisitions (2-3 credits)
• Negotiations (2 credits) (Instructor to certify the subject matter as business transactional related)
• Partnership Tax (2-3 credits)
• Products Liability (2-3 credits)
• Real Estate Transfer, Finance, and Development (3 credits)
• Securities Regulation (3 credits)
• Worker's Compensation (2 credits)
• White Collar Crime (2-3 credits)
• World Trade Organization (WTO) Law (3 credits)

Online options

IU McKinney offers a substantial and increasing online course catalog, with most courses open to students in the LL.M. degree program. LL.M. students may earn nearly 50% of their required credit hours online (up to 11 credit hours). These courses are built, and taught, with the same attention to excellence in law school pedagogy that students enjoy in live classes.