The General Counsel: Strategic Partner in Chief

The General Counsel: Strategic Partner in Chief provides an introduction to the evolving role of the chief legal officer in business organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other non-law firm entities. We will compare and contrast the roles of outside counsel employed in a law firm acting on behalf of multiple clients with those attorneys who serve one client. The course will expose students to practical and analytical challenges of in-house practice, including the fine line between acting as counsel as opposed to making business decisions. We will draw on students' own career experiences and the class will work collaboratively on exercises designed to highlight the opportunities and challenges presented when working in-house. The course will require significant student participation and discussion, and we will hear from guest speakers to amplify the varied roles of counsel in a corporate setting.