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Corporate, Business, and Transactional Law

In the global economy, the complex relationships among corporate boards, management, entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders create a dynamic legal landscape for private business and public corporations. This arena demands lawyers who are agile advisers, knowledgeable strategists, skilled dealmakers, and creative problem-solvers. 

How do lawyers help their clients navigate the complex legal frameworks and challenges facing corporations, entrepreneurs, financiers, and shareholders?

New York City, the world’s commercial and financial capital, is the ideal place for students to investigate and thoroughly understand legal and organizational issues facing businesses of all kinds—corporate governance, transactions, capital markets, securities regulation, and taxation—and to pursue the broad range of career opportunities in the private sector.

Why Columbia?

Learn from Law School faculty known for their groundbreaking scholarship and real-world advising on bankruptcy, contracts, fintech, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and white-collar crime.

Participate in interdisciplinary Deals Workshops, taught by lawyers from top New York firms, and develop skills for structuring and implementing business transactions to create value, manage risk, and promote clients’ interests. Learn dispute resolution skills in the Law School’s popular Negotiation Workshop. 

Serve as research fellows in centers such as the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Governance and the Center for Law and Economic Studies.

Attend conferences hosted by centers affiliated with Columbia Business School such as the Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy and programming from the Reuben Mark Initiative and its In-House Counsel Program exploring the role of the general counsel and chief legal officer.

Gain real-world experience working in clinics and externships. Explore transactional practice in the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic; learn under the leadership of in-house attorneys at both start-ups and established corporations through the In-House Counsel Externship; and pursue antitrust cases through an externship with the New York State Attorney General’s Antitrust Enforcement Externship.  

Engage with corporate leaders as a student fellow at the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Governance and through the In House Counsel Program of the Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character and Leadership. 

Related Links

Explore Courses Three-Year J.D./MBA Program Four-Year J.D./MBA Program Executive LL.M. in Global Business Law

Related Faculty

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Professor Talia Gillis

Talia Gillis

  • Associate Professor of Law and Milton Handler Fellow
Zohar Goshen

Zohar Goshen

  • Jerome L. Greene Professor of Transactional Law
Prof Judge image

Kathryn Judge

  • Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law; Vice Dean for Intellectual Life
Avery Katz

Avery W. Katz

  • Milton Handler Professor of Law and Reuben Mark Professor of Organizational Character
Ronald Mann

Ronald Mann

  • Albert E. Cinelli Enterprise Professor of Law
Professor David Schizer

David M. Schizer

  • Harvey R. Miller Professor of Law and Economics and Dean Emeritus
Professor Eric Talley

Eric Talley

  • Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law
Professor Andrzej Rapaczynski

Andrzej Rapaczynski

  • Daniel G. Ross Professor Emeritus of Law and Joseph Solomon Professor Emeritus of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning
Three students stand outside Jerome Greene Hall.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

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Related Centers and Programs

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Center for Contract and Economic Organization

The Center for Contract and Economic Organization capitalizes on the synergies between the Law School’s experts in contracts, commercial transactions, and business organizations and scholars throughout Columbia University who study contract theory and the economics of information. Through scholarly collaboration, the center contributes to existing knowledge and sponsors a host of ongoing initiatives, including visiting fellowships, workshops, and conferences. 

 

Areas of Study

Center on Corporate Governance

The Center on Corporate Governance brings together judges, academics, regulators, and institutional investors to discuss cutting-edge issues related to securities law and corporate governance. The center also sponsors the CLS Blue Sky Blog, which covers corporate governance, financial regulation, restructuring, antitrust, and related topics. 

 

Areas of Study

Center for International Commercial & Investment Arbitration

The Center for International Commercial & Investment Arbitration furthers the teaching and study of international arbitration. Through research and collaborations with other like-minded institutions worldwide, the center develops effective methods of resolving international disputes and encouraging international commerce and exchange. The center also prepares students and young professionals interested in arbitration and dispute resolution for careers in the field.

Areas of Study

Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership

The Millstein Center operates at the forefront of new thinking about how corporations are governed. The center engages with business leaders and board directors to create meaningful dialogue about the challenges companies face, and to be a focal point for the most innovative research into the policy solutions required to tackle those challenges. Its mission is twofold: to help corporate leaders successfully navigate challenges facing their companies and to bridge the gap between academics and practitioners by developing practical solutions to corporate ownership issues. 

 

Areas of Study

Program in the Law and Economics of Capital Markets

The Program in the Law and Economics of Capital Markets connects the disparate work of lawyers and economists in the field of capital markets regulation by fostering interdisciplinary scholarship. The program has four areas of focus: a capital markets course, a comprehensive study on policymaking and academic research in markets, workshops for government officials and industry experts, and two published books.

 

Areas of Study

The Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character and Leadership In-House Counsel Program

The Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character and Leadership leverages the intellectual capital of Columbia Business School and Columbia Law School to design courses and programs that teach the leadership skills and strategies necessary to create an optimal organizational culture. The initiative’s In-House Counsel Program offers students innovative and rich courses, research, and programming exploring the role of the in-house counsel as strategic partners and leaders within companies and organizations.

Areas of Study

Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy

The Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy—a joint venture of Columbia Law School and Columbia Business School—fosters dialogue and debate at the intersection of business, law, and public policy. Columbia faculty involved with the center conduct rigorous curricular and research initiatives in order to produce real-world solutions to complex interdisciplinary challenges. The center’s offerings also include a dual J.D./MBA degree, an executive education program, a Blue Sky Workshop that facilitates knowledge sharing, public lectures, conferences, and forums.

 

Areas of Study

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Public Interest/Public Service

No matter what your area of interest, find ways to incorporate public interest and public service into your academic program and career.

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Data Analytics

AI, big data, machine learning: How is technology revolutionizing the practice of law and the administration of justice? Columbia Law faculty are the forefront of integrating data analytics and employing state-of-the-art data science methodologies in legal practice and research across a range of disciplines. Students benefit from their knowledge and practices in the classroom and through labs and other experiential learning opportunities.