The business world is relying more and more on lawyers to manage companies, structure deals, settle disputes, and seize opportunities. Columbia students benefit from a renown faculty and a broad curriculum.
Now more than ever, the fields of law and business interface with each other, and a legal education is an ideal springboard for those wanting to work in a variety of business-related careers. Some lawyers profiled here work at law firms that represent major corporations, while others are employed by the corporations themselves, as general counsels.
Columbia Business Law Review is the first legal periodical at a national law school to be devoted solely to the publication of articles focusing on the interaction of the legal profession and the business community. The review publishes three issues yearly, which involve students in the editing of leading articles in business law, as well as the production of student-written notes.
Columbia business professors often publish articles and books that offer new ideas and solutions to problems. The following is a selection of recently published books.
Columbia Law School was recently highlighted by the National Law Journal for having placed the largest number of students in the top 50 firms in the United States. Moreover, more than two-thirds of the students in a recent class reported that they were working for their "first-choice" employer. Columbia students are chosen because of the school's premier reputation in business law and because of the outstanding preparation they receive from the Office of Career Services.
Since its founding, the Law School has been known for the variety and practicality of its courses. The following is a selection of some of the most innovative business law courses at any school today.
Columbia Law School plays an important role in both the legal and economic communities by convening conferences that address the role of law and legal institutions in the economy—and vice versa. Following is a sampling of recent conferences.
The Center for Law and Economic Studies' basic mandate is to develop interdisciplinary research and teaching programs in order to shed new light on the "fundamental economic and legal problems of the modern industrial society."
"Deals: The Economic Structure of Transactions and Contracting" explores the concept of the business lawyer's role in creating value through "transaction cost engineering." It analyzes a variety of business transactions in an effort to learn more about patterns of contractual governance, teaching students about patterns that have emerged with respect to different types of transactions and how parties may more effectively govern their relations. Students then apply those tools to real transactions.
The European Legal Studies Center is an integral part of the Law School's mission to train lawyers in a global economy that includes increasing numbers of cross-border deals. By hosting European scholars, sponsoring conferences, and supervising the Columbia Journal of European Law, the center promotes research in European Union law that benefits policymakers and the academic community. Its objectives are also accomplished through the center's semester-exchange and double-degree programs with a number of European law schools.
Columbia Law School has had a presence in Asia since the 1950s. Today, the Law School continues to play a vital role in Asia through several centers: The Center for Japanese Legal Studies, the Center for Chinese Legal Studies, and the Center for Korean Legal Studies.
Columbia Law School's Center on Corporate Governance was inaugurated on June 17 with a conference called "Roundtable on Access to the Proxy Statement." The event brought together leading institutional investors and academics to discuss the prospects for direct shareholder nomination through the corporation's own proxy statement of a limited number of "watchdog" directors.
The Center for Law and Economic Studies' basic mandate is to develop interdisciplinary research and teaching programs in order to shed new light on the "fundamental economic and legal problems of the modern industrial society."
"Deals: The Economic Structure of Transactions and Contracting" explores the concept of the business lawyer's role in creating value through "transaction cost engineering." It analyzes a variety of business transactions in an effort to learn more about patterns of contractual governance, teaching students about patterns that have emerged with respect to different types of transactions and how parties may more effectively govern their relations. Students then apply those tools to real transactions.
The European Legal Studies Center is an integral part of the Law School's mission to train lawyers in a global economy that includes increasing numbers of cross-border deals. By hosting European scholars, sponsoring conferences, and supervising the Columbia Journal of European Law, the center promotes research in European Union law that benefits policymakers and the academic community. Its objectives are also accomplished through the center's semester-exchange and double-degree programs with a number of European law schools.
Columbia Law School has had a presence in Asia since the 1950s. Today, the Law School continues to play a vital role in Asia through several centers: The Center for Japanese Legal Studies, the Center for Chinese Legal Studies, and the Center for Korean Legal Studies.
Columbia Law School's Center on Corporate Governance was inaugurated on June 17 with a conference called "Roundtable on Access to the Proxy Statement." The event brought together leading institutional investors and academics to discuss the prospects for direct shareholder nomination through the corporation's own proxy statement of a limited number of "watchdog" directors.
