Business Skills for Lawyers

 The objective of this course is to provide new lawyers with the accounting and financial skills required to better serve their clients. Students will gain qualitative and quantitative aptitude in the areas of finance, economics and accounting, and familiarity with their application to common issues such as mergers and acquisitions, capital offerings, private placements, bankruptcy, restructuring, and litigation. In this manner, the course will serve as a “mini-MBA,” and will equip students with the fundamental knowledge to see the big picture and take a more holistic approach to client matters.

We will explore specific accounting and reporting issues, including the calculation and interpretation of earnings and cash flow forecasts, discount rates and capital costs. We will then apply these elements to the practice of firm valuation, including the adjustment of cash flows to reflect time and risk, and the techniques used to measure risk-adjusted returns. We will also cover key concepts related to capital and deal structures. Through the integration of real world case studies, we will explore applications across a wide spectrum of entities, from large multinational corporations and middle-market firms, to private equity funds and real estate partnerships.