Law and Business
Mitchell Hamline’s Law and Business Certificate prepares J.D. students to become business leaders, business managers, and business lawyers. It supplements the J.D. degree and demonstrates that a student has achieved business law competency, practical experience in business contexts, and mastery of critical business thinking and communications skills through a rigorous course of study, research and writing, and practical experience. Hybrid J.D. program students seeking the Mitchell Hamline Law and Business Certificate will be exposed to foundational business law, key principles of business, as well as ethical problem solving of complex business issues.
To earn the Law and Business Certificate, students must complete a rigorous course of study that includes courses in a range of business topics including accounting and finance, organizational structure and governance, business strategies and planning, capitalization, taxation, compliance and risk management, and business communications. Students will also gain practical experience in business through the Law and Business Externship program or equivalent clinic, externship, or work experience.
The following program description applies to Blended Learning students.
Course Requirements
To obtain the Law and Business Certificate, a student must complete the courses listed below by semester. The Program Requirements Document is also available to download as a pdf.
Semester V
- Employment Law – online (3 credits)
- Intro to Business Organizations – hybrid (3 credits)
- Transactions and Settlements hybrid (3 credits)
Semester VI
- Commercial Law Survey – online (3 credits)
Semester VII
- Income Tax (3 credits)
- Lawyer as Business Owner – online (3 credits)
Summer session (following semester II or semester IV)
- Accounting and Finance Survey – online (2 credits)
- The Start-Up Business Enterprise – hybrid (3 credits)
- Deals and Dispute Resolution – hybrid (3 credits)
Additional requirements
- 4 credits Externship or Clinic (see below for practical experience requirement)
- Seminar and Long Paper (see below for writing requirement)
Practical Experience Requirement
To obtain the Law and Business Certificate, a student must obtain practical experience with a substantial foundation in law and business through the equivalent of four (4) credits provided by an externship or clinical experience during the Semester VIII Keystone semester.
Writing Requirement
To obtain the Law and Business Certificate, a student must complete a scholarly paper on a business law or business topic. The paper must meet the guidelines applicable to the Advanced Research and Writing (ARW) requirement for graduation from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and be approved by the director of the Business Certificate programs. A student may satisfy the Writing Requirement by completing a paper for a course that satisfies the ARW requirement, an independent study with a faculty member, or a Law Review article, provided that the subject of that paper is business law or business related.
Academic Requirement
To obtain the Law and Business Certificate, a student must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 (calculated at the time of graduation) in all of the required Business Law Courses and any independent research and writing project completed to satisfy the Writing Requirement.
Extracurricular Activities Requirement
To obtain the Law and Business Certificate, a student must attend six extracurricular activities in the area of law and business over their law school career. This may be through a local bar association, webcast or in-person Off the Record Career Conversations, alumni receptions or CLE events hosted by Mitchell Hamline.
Effective August 2017