LLM Business Planning and Transactions

The course focuses on the lawyer s role as an advisor to a privately-owned start-up company and its owners. We will explore how legal issues and business objectives overlap, the role played by the transactional lawyer in the transaction and soft skills such as client relations and co-worker relationships. This course will examine the life cycle of a hypothetical company, focusing on sample transactions from three major stages of the company s life cycle: choice of entity, formation and obtaining capital; ongoing operations; and exiting or sale of the company. Much of the class work will involve working in teams of two or three students in order to simulate an actual transactional practice. Using case studies and actual deal documents, students will represent the company, its owners or third parties and will analyze, structure and negotiate selected deal components, and, on a limited basis, draft portions of the relevant deal documents.