- Business Organizations
- Taxation
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Business Law Certificate - JD
USC Gould School of Law
A Business Law Certificate demonstrates specialized training in the legal, business and negotiating skills required for business law practice. Students may earn the certificate alongside a JD, JD/MBA, or concurrently with other USC Gould certifcates.
Certificate Requirements
Complete at least 22 units distributed as follows:
CategoryMinimum Units
Mandatory Courses (Business Organizations + Taxation)
8
8
Core Electives6
Transactional Skills or Clinic/Externship
4
4
Additional Electives from any Category
4
4
No more than 6 units may be taken CR/D/F.
Accounting & Finance Proficiency
All certificate students must demonstrate proficiency in accounting and finance. This requirement is satisfied by completing one of the following:
- Corporate Finance (also counts toward Core Electives)
- Business for Lawyers (also counts toward Core Electives)
- Waiver from the Director of the Business Law Certificate Program
A waiver does not reduce the total units required.
Course Lists
Mandatory Courses 
Core Electives
- Accounting for Lawyers
- Business Bankruptcy
- Bankruptcy: Debtors and Creditors
- Business for Lawyers
- Corporate Finance
- Corporate Taxation
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies
- Partnership Taxation
- Securities Regulation
Specialized Elective: Substantive Law
- Analytical Methods
- Antitrust Law
- Antitrust and Intellectual Property Law Seminar*
- Business Bankruptcy
- Counseling the Startup Company
- Entertainment Law
- Insurance
- Intellectual Property
- International Business Transactions
- Land Use Controls
- Sales Transactions
- Secured Transactions
- Transactional Due Diligence
- Venture Capital Law and Emerging Companies
*Cannot count toward certificate if Antitrust or Intellectual Property is also credited.
Specialized Elective: Transactional Skills
Corporate
- Advanced Contracts
- Advanced Legal Writing for Business Lawyers
- Advanced Secured Transactions Workshop
- Alternative Dispute Resolution Clause Drafting
- Business Planning: Structuring and Financing the New Enterprise
- Deal Strategy, Structure and Negotiation
- Transactional Practice: The Syndicated Loan Agreement
- Contract Drafting and Analysis or Contract Drafting and Negotiation
- Negotiation courses (max 2 units toward Skills requirement)
Real Estate
- Real Estate Transactions and Finance
- Real Estate Transactions Problems
- Real Estate Finance Problems
Media and Technology
- Digital Media Transactions
- Technology Transactions
- Dealmaking in the Entertainment Industry
- Legal and Business Issues in the Digital Age
Clinics, Externships & Publications
- Small Business Clinic I & II
- Law for Business
- Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic
Marshall School of Business Cross-Registration
- Corporate Financial Strategy
- Corporate Financial Policy and Corporate Governance
- Entrepreneurial Finance
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Financial Analysis and Valuation
Course availability varies by semester. Students may petition to substitute equivalent coursework completed outside the law school.
Optional Concentrations
Students may complete a concentration to signal preparation for a specific practice area. Concentrations appear on transcripts and may be noted on resumes. All concentrations require satisfaction of the Accounting & Finance Proficiency requirement above.
Bolded course names within the concentrations indicate courses that count toward multiple concentrations
Capital Markets and Financial Law
Required courses (all three):
- Securities Regulation
- Corporate Finance
- Business Organizations
Plus at least one of:
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Accounting for Lawyers
- Real Estate Transactions and Finance
- Corporate Fraud Seminar
- Business Planning: Structuring and Financing a New Enterprise
- Corporate Taxation
- Secured Transactions
- Corporate and Commercial Law Seminar
Corporate Reorganization and Creditors' Rights
Required: Complete at least one bankruptcy course:
- Business Bankruptcy, OR
- Bankruptcy: Debtors and Creditors
Plus at least 10 additional credits from:
- Business Bankruptcy
- Bankruptcy: Debtors and Creditors
- Corporate Finance
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Secured Transactions
- Transactional Practice: The Syndicated Loan Agreement
- Corporate and Commercial Law Seminar
Students may count both bankruptcy courses—one toward the requirement above and one toward elective credits.
Real Estate
Required courses (both):
- Real Estate Transactions and Finance
- Real Estate Development, Entitlements and Zoning
Plus at least 5 credits from:
- Land-Use Controls
- Local Government Law
- Partnership Taxation
- Real Estate Joint Ventures
- Real Estate Transactions Problems
- Transactional Practice: The Syndicated Loan Agreement
- Secured Transactions
- Accounting for Lawyers or Corporate Finance
Taxation
Required courses (all three):
- Taxation
- Corporate Taxation
- Partnership Taxation
Plus at least one of:
At the Law School:
- Accounting for Lawyers
- Corporate Finance
- Tax Policy Seminar
At Marshall (Accounting):
- Advanced International Taxation (prerequisite: ACCT 568T)
- Federal Estate and Gift Taxes
- International Taxation
- State and Local Tax Concepts
- Taxation of Transactions in Property
Planning Tips
Students interested in multiple concentrations should note that the following courses count toward more than one concentration:
- Corporate Finance — Capital Markets, Creditors' Rights, Real Estate, Taxation
- Accounting for Lawyers — Capital Markets, Real Estate, Taxation
- Secured Transactions — Capital Markets, Creditors' Rights, Real Estate
- Mergers and Acquisitions — Capital Markets, Creditors' Rights
- Partnership Taxation — Real Estate, Taxation
- Transactional Practice: The Syndicated Loan Agreement — Creditors' Rights, Real Estate
Strategic course selection can make completing two concentrations more efficient. Contact the Business Law Certificate Program Director for individualized advising.
The Business Law certificate gives you a good roadmap outlining both substantive and hands-on classes. I took a mix of both. The hands-on classes gave me a great perspective on how the substantive law would apply in real-world situations.
Ali Degolia, JD 2017
USC Gould School of Law
699 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90089-0071
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